3 Californian-Italian Cocktails to Set off your Summer

In the summertime, a steady fog rolls off the Pacific and blankets the terraced hills of California’s Golden Coast, cooling grapevines, orange, and lemon trees. Set back just a few miles from the ocean, Ventura Spirits distills liquor and liqueur, like limoncello, with the harvested fruit.

Four brothers and friends, Anthony, Andrew, James, and Henry, founded the company in 2011 after hatching the idea in college. “The distillery became the right nexus for our hopes and dreams,” said co-founder Andrew Caspary. “It was a way to realize a fun project that would allow us to spread our wings in many different directions.” Eventually, their interests in land conservation, industrial design, engineering, and product development, converged when they opened. “We’re surrounded by an incredible bounty of wild plants and ecosystems and nestled in a large agricultural area,” said co-founder Henry Tarmy. “As a distillery, we are well-positioned to make use of this and the surplus. There aren't many places like this.”

That local agricultural surplus, like Eureka lemons and white wine varietals, sometimes called “ugly fruit,” are an essential part of the recipes they develop. As do memories from childhood. When asked how four men fell for Italian liqueur, the story goes far back. Brothers Anthony and Andrew Caspary, who are Italian American, first tasted herbal and lemon digestivi as teenagers vacationing in Italy. Their attention was piqued by rituals of elders sipping Amaro and Sambuca. After the trip, they started experimenting with limoncello and an “undrinkable” high-proof spirit made with their father’s homemade table wine.

Anthony found a limoncello recipe in a cookbook, “Food of Sicily, Sardinia and the Smaller Islands,” by Giuliano Bugialli. He remembers suspending lemons over a container of alcohol and watching vapor condense on the peel and drip back into the jar, turning it electric yellow. His mother, Mary Rose, claims that was the best batch ever.

But the brothers didn’t stop there. While still in high school, they built a still in their garage with parts purchased at the local hardware store. “My parents knew that it was not about drinking, but about creating and playing,” said younger brother Andrew. “We were actually distilling before we were drinking.” Anthony and Andrew were not the first in the family with a passion for tinkering with alcohol. Their great grandfather came from Calabria, Italy, became a bootlegger in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and moved to California to get serious about the wine and spirits business.

Today, the original still has been “cannibalized” and repurposed in the facility, where they make limoncello according to a new recipe. Unlike thick and syrupy versions of the drink, theirs has less sugar and more citrus kick since it uses zest, pith, and lemon juice. “For us, it was a question of honoring and putting the lemon flavor on a pedestal,” said Henry.

And their Amaro Angeleno, known for its bright and bitter orange flavor, has become a popular favorite. The drink began as a recipe collaboration with Stephen Sakulsky, an Amaro enthusiast and owner of Osteria La Buca, an Italian restaurant in Los Angeles. “The goal was not to replicate a specific Italian Amaro, but to take what was so wonderful about Amaro and make it of this place as well,” said Andrew.

Since Spritz has taken off in Southern California, the demand for liqueur is on the rise. Soon Ventura Spirits will sell more than bottles and beverage kits with the launch of their first hand-cocktail, featuring Angeleno Amaro, seltzer, and a hint of grapefruit. “You’re not going to take a bottle of Amaro to the beach,” said Henry, who is happy to bring customers yet another reason to enjoy their Californian spirits. Socially-distanced Spritz picnics anyone?

Here are their 3 cocktail recipes!

Angeleno Spritz

1.5 oz. Amaro Angeleno
3 oz. Prosecco
Seltzer water
Orange curl

Measure out alcoholic ingredients and pour into a wine glass or highball filled with ice.
Add a splash of club soda.
Garnish with an orange wedge.

Golden Negroni

1 oz botanical gin
1 oz vermouth bianco
1 oz Amaro Angeleno
Grapefruit

Combine, stir and strain over rocks.
Garnish with grapefruit twist.

Limoncello Collins

1 ½ oz. Limoncello
1 ½ oz. Vodka or Gin
1 oz. Lemon Juice
1 oz. Club Soda

Combine limoncello, vodka or gin and lemon juice and stir.
Pour over ice in a Collins glass.
Top with Club Soda and garnish with a slice of lemon or sprig of mint.