Sparkling Slush with Grapefruit and Campari Sorbet
With the rise in popularity of the negroni and its sbagliato cousin, I thought I’d take the trend for a spin with a fun bubbly cocktail to ring in the new year. Say hello to sparkling slush with grapefruit and Campari sorbet.
Sbagliato means “mistake”, and although this cocktail also uses sparkling wine instead of gin, IMO it is anything but a mistake.
Get the Recipe: Sparkling Slush with Grapefruit and Campari Sorbet
Ingredients
- 3 cups pink grapefruit juice (about 6 grapefruits), fresh squeezed
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup Campari
- 1 bottle sparkling wine
Equipment
- 1 juicer, reemer, or citrus press optional
- 1 Fine Mesh Strainer
- 1 saucepot
- 1 spatula
- 1 ice cream or cookie scoop
Instructions
- First, juice the grapefruits and strain the pulp from the liquid with a fine mesh strainer. Pour 1 cup (240ml) of the grapefruit juice into a small sauce pot and add in the sugar. Dissolve the sugar over low heat, to make a grapefruit syrup. Stir or swirl every minute or so.
- When done, remove the syrup from heat and stir in the rest of the grapefruit juice and the Campari. Chill the sorbet base thoroughly, then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
- The machine should finish when the sorbet is at a soft serve consistency. Scrape the sorbet out of the ice cream maker into a lidded container. Immediately place the soft sorbet into the freezer for at least another 4 hours or overnight for best results.
- When completely frozen, find an ice cream or cookie scoop that matches the opening of your glass in diameter, so they fit. Scoop sorbet spheres into your glass and top with sparkling wine. Serve with a spoon much like you would a rootbeer float.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
No ice cream maker? No problem! Put you fully chilled sorbet in the freezer and after about an hour remove it and scrape down the sorbet that has begun to freeze around the edges. Return it to the freezer and check in every 30 minutes. Use a fork or a hand-held mixer to break up any frozen sections as much as you can. It should be ready to let fully freeze in about 2-3 hours. Once fully set, freeze for another 4 hours or overnight for best results. Of note: The texture won’t be as smooth as a machine but it’ll still be delicious, and it’s meant to be slush anyway.
If Campari is not to your taste, Aperol is a great step-down apéritif. Replace the Campari with Aperol at a 1:1 ratio for a lighter, sweeter sorbet. If the sorbet is too sweet with the Aperol, consider lessening the sugar from 3/4c (150g) to 2/3c (135g) as well.
Yes, Yes, YES! An assortment of tonic and soda waters would be perfect for this drink. Also, ginger ale would give an additional kick and sweetness if you want to keep the campari, but tone down the bitterness a bit. I wouldn’t suggest very strongly flavored carbonated beverages, like ginger beer, but as I have said in the past and will continue to shout into the future, “You do you!”
