When winter starts handing over the weather to spring and the sun starts to encourage the flowers to come out and play, we love nothing more than heading out into the garden with a vibrant spritz cocktail and this grapefruit, Aperol, limoncello and gin recipe makes the perfect spritz for such an occasion - it’s great for any other occasion too for that matter!

Whether enjoyed on your own or with your gin pals, it is not to be missed…

What makes this spritz cocktail so special? Well, it all comes down to the ingredients.

Aperol is always a great friend to a good craft gin and limoncello has always been a sure way to our hearts - in this recipe, it adds a lovely zing to the bitter-sweet Aperol and the rich juniper of the gin. What a trio!

The real star of the show has to be the Schweppes Grapefruit Tonic though. It is bright and wonderfully bubbly, and its fragrant grapefruit tones are delightfully refreshing. It’s the perfect way to bring the powerful flavours of the Aperol, gin and limoncello together into one gloriously quaffable spring cocktail.

(Schweppes have been perfecting their bubbles and flavours for over 200 years, you know! That’s why we just had to include their elderflower-flavoured tonic in Craft Gin Club’s March 2023 Gin of the Month box. Yum!)

Give this recipe a go tonight!

Zesty Grapefruit Spritz

30ml gin
10ml Aperol
20ml limoncello
15ml lemon juice
10ml Simple Syrup
100ml Schweppes Grapefruit Tonic
Fresh grapefruit, to garnish

Add the gin, Aperol, limoncello, lemon juice and syrup to a cocktail shaker and shake with lots of ice. Fine strain into a chilled spritz glass. Add the Schweppes Grapefruit Tonic. Fill the glass with ice, garnish and serve. Enjoy!

And the fun doesn’t stop with the spritz above! Here at Craft Gin Club HQ, we’ve also been trying Schweppes Pink Soda and Schweppes Ginger Ale in the two cocktails below. They are simply divine!

Red Daisy

Here, the wonderfully crisp citrus tones of the Schweppes Pink Soda are the perfect match for the complex, delectably bitter gin and the fruity raspberry tones of Craft Gin Club’s Raspberry Syrup. The vermouth then adds herbaceous notes that take this fun cocktail to new heights of deliciousness!

45ml gin
15ml dry vermouth
10ml Raspberry Syrup
20ml lemon juice
100ml Schweppes Pink Soda
Cherries or citrus peel, to garnish

Add the gin, vermouth, syrup and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Fine strain into a chilled coupe glass. Top with the Schweppes Pink Soda. Garnish, serve and enjoy!

Spiced Sling

Spiced gin and Schweppes Ginger Ale make for the perfect pairing in this banana suffused, ginger and orange flower cocktail recipe. It’s unique and creative and completely delicious! We can’t wait for you to give it a try…

30ml spiced gin
20ml Craft Gin Club’s Summer Garden Cup liqueur
10ml créme de banana (banana liqueur)
1x dash of orange flower water
100ml Schweppes Ginger Ale
Fresh orange or blood orange, to garnish

Add the gin, liqueurs and flower water to a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Fine strain into a glass. Fill the glass with ice. Top with the Schweppes Ginger Ale. Stir, garnish and serve. Enjoy!

Now try Schweppes Slimline Elderflower Tonic with York Gin Jorvik Spring in Craft Gin Club’s March 2023 Perfect G&T. The recipe is right here!