The recoleta clericot is a clever cocktail, with a careful balance of tastes and flavours – bitter Cinzano, acid-sweet orange juice, delicate herbal notes and the alcoholic wallop of gin, the distinctive flat melon flavour of cucumber, and ginger ale’s dancing top note. I came across this recipe in Waitrose Food magazine a couple of summers ago, and we’ve been quaffing them regularly ever since.
“Recoleta clericot” is also fun to say. Curious as to what the name meant, I did a little research online. I discovered that Recoleta is an exclusive neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, and clericot seems to be white sangria. I found lots of different recipes – most involve bottles of white wine, sparkling water, fresh or frozen fruit, ice cubes, maybe some cointreau (or other liqueur) to give it a kick.
So, perhaps the recoleta clericot is intended to be an upmarket, cocktail version of a universally popular, thirst-quenching summer drink? The sort of thing you’d sip in an elegant hotel bar rather than drink on the beach by the pitcher? I’ll definitely be trying out those clericot recipes a try as well, should the summer weather decide to return…
Recoleta clericot
(makes 1)
- 50ml gin
- 15ml Cinzano Bianco
- 15ml orange juice
- ginger ale
- cucumber slices
- ice, both cubed and crushed
- Add the gin, Cinzano and orange juice to a cocktail shaker and fill with ice.
- Shake well, then strain into a glass filled with crushed ice.
- Top with a splash of ginger ale and add a few slices of cucumber to the glass before serving.
Ten More Bites 
Must try. Sounds delightful