Django Reinhardt

This vermouth based cocktail is the perfect day drinking situation fit for brunch. Filled with citrus and ice it is a simple drink to shake up in no time and refreshing to say the least.

If you have got a bottle of Vermouth laying around your fridge from a few months, this is this cocktail for you. If you don’t have vermouth, I would recommend buying it just to make a batch of these zesty drinks. The name Django Reinhardt is that of jazz guitarist who used two finger on his left hand to play not your Jamie Foxx Django from Django Unchained.

This cocktail was invented by Erick Castro of Polite Provisions as per Drunkardsalmanac. This is a drink to get the party started on a light note. If you serving light drinkers then this is the recipe for them. It is sweet, sour, zesty and refreshing making it a very light but vibrant cocktail. A great pick up on a Sunday afternoon to ensure. It is perfectly suitable as an aperitif and it is extremely easy to make but very a simple drink to shake up in no time.

The ingredients needed to make this cocktail are, Vermouth (ideally dry), lemon juice, orange slices, sweetener of choice and ice. Everything is added into the cocktail glass and shaken until the mixture is cold. I love using blood orange or grapefruit to balance the sweet and sour notes in the cocktail. If you don’t have lemon you can use limes. Sometimes I like topping the glass with a little sparkling water for that bubbly feel on the palate. I served the cocktail in a short old fashioned glass but it is usually served in any short glass.

Food pairings:

This is a light a fragrant drink which you can serve with seafood that is grilled or steamed. It can also be served chicken (find my marry me chicken recipe here) and steamed veggies. I served this today with a quiche you can find my Kale quiche recipe here and the Stilton squash recipe here. I would pair this with my orange pistachio saffron cake or any cake.

Now that we have discussed how to make this recipe let us get drinking. Happy Sunday Ninjas!