5 Summer Cocktails with Lillet

Lillet: What Is It and What Should I Do with It?

Good question!

Answer: Lillet is an aperitif from Bordeaux, France, the homeland of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and back in my starving postgrad days it was what my roommate and I would get if we had saved enough nickels and wanted to drink something grown-up that didn’t come out of a tap down at The Druid.

Lillet is wine-based (Semillon for the white and pink iterations; Merlot for the red) and blended and co-aged with a modest amount (I think about 15%) of fruity and herbaceous liqueurs (predominantly citrus-peel flavors, but it also contains some cinchona bark which gives it a subtle bitter edge and gives you a little dose of quinine). It is commonly served chilled, over ice, with an orange wedge.

Lillet Blanc is a slightly viscous, honey-nosed drink with a lot of orange and lemon notes, as well as herbs (mint and pine come up) and white flowers (jasmine-gardenia type tropical ones). The finish is very long and bittersweet and reminiscent of rosemary. Lillet Rouge is amber to garnet in tone and sweeter than its white counterpart, with dominant notes of raspberry and cherry rather than orange and more ginger and nutmeg on the herb side than the fresh mint and rosemary bouquet of its white counterpart. It shares the lengthy, slightly bitter-edged finish.

Lillet is delightful on its own (like I said, the classique treatment is rocks and an orange slice) but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a friend to cocktail-ologists. Here are five fun things to do with this tasty tonic

Lillet Spritz

Ingredients
3 parts Lillet Blanc/Rose
3 parts tonic Water
Garnish: cucumber slices, strawberry, mint sprig

Directions: Build over 3 large ice cubes in a tall wine glass and garnish with cucumber, mint and strawberry.