Pre Dinner

01 September 2026

By Claudio Teresa, bar manager of the cocktail bar Portale Botteghe, Marsala (TP)

For the cocktail:

• 30 ml Bitter, Distilleria Negroni
• 40 ml Marsala Vergine Dry
• 2 tbs Blood orange oleo saccharum
• Top Home-made Soda flavoured with citrus blossoms

Method
Built on the rocks

Glassware
Double rock glass

Garnish
Twist and orange peel

Procedure
Mix oleo saccharum and blood oranges with Bitter by Negroni Antica Distilleria and Marsala, without ice; once the sugar is dissolved, top up the double rock with ice and dilute briefly. Top the drink with orange-blossom soda and decorate with orange peel.
A unique take on a traditional American cocktail with strong Sicilian influences, from oleo saccharum, made with essential oils of Marsalese blood oranges, to soda flavoured with orange-blossoms, which are increasingly used in the preparation of colognes due to their delicate citrusy aroma. The use of Marsala wine adds a regional flavour, in particular the dry Vergine type, with balsamic notes and hints of dried fruit that perfectly accompany the bitter freshness of Bitter, Distilleria Negroni, 25% abv, a bold flavoured Italian aperitif with aromas of gentian, bitter orange and china. Bringing out the classic taste of a bitter-sweet aperitif, this cocktail has a highly persistent flavour that fully enhances the quality of Italy's local
products.

FOR AN ALL-ITALIAN APERITIF!