Blackberry limoncello spritz: how to make it at home

A blackberry limoncello spritz is limoncello, muddled blackberries, dry sparkling wine and a splash of soda over ice. It takes five minutes to make at home, and if you would rather skip the mixing, CBC Liquors in Westford has ready-to-drink cocktails that cover similar ground.

What goes into a blackberry limoncello spritz?

The drink has four parts: limoncello, fresh blackberries, something sparkling and a little soda water. Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur made by steeping lemon peel in neutral spirit and sweetening it. It is bright, sweet and lemony, which is why it pairs so well with tart berries.

Blackberries add colour, a slightly earthy fruit flavour and enough tartness to keep the lemon liqueur from tasting syrupy. The sparkling wine lifts everything and makes it a spritz instead of a sweet sipper. The soda stretches the drink so it stays light.

Garnish with a lemon wheel or a few whole berries on a pick. That is the whole drink, with no shaker needed.

How do you make one glass?

Use a large wine glass or a tall tumbler. Drop in four or five ripe blackberries and press them gently with the back of a spoon or a muddler until they release their juice. You want them broken up, not pulped.

Add about 1.5 ounces of limoncello and fill the glass with ice. Top with roughly 3 ounces of chilled dry sparkling wine and a splash of soda water, about an ounce. Stir once, gently, from the bottom so the berry juice mixes through without knocking out the bubbles.

Finish with a lemon wheel. If it tastes too sweet, add a squeeze of fresh lemon. If it is too tart, add a little more limoncello next time. Keep the first pour modest and adjust from there.

Which sparkling wine works best?

Choose something dry. Limoncello already brings plenty of sweetness, so a brut or extra dry sparkling wine balances it. A sweet sparkling wine will make the whole drink cloying.

Any dry sparkling wine will do for a casual spritz. If you are making these for a holiday table and want something a step up, a Champagne such as NICOLAS FEUILLATT Reserve Brut Champagne, which we have in stock, gives you a crisp, dry base. Browse the full wine section if you want to compare styles.

Serve the sparkling wine well chilled and open it just before you build the drinks. Warm bottles foam up and lose their fizz faster.

How do you make a pitcher for a party?

Build the base ahead of time and add the bubbles at the last minute. For a pitcher of about eight small servings, muddle a pint of blackberries with a little lemon juice in the bottom, add about 8 ounces of limoncello and stir. Chill it for an hour or two.

When guests arrive, add ice, pour in one chilled 750 ml bottle of dry sparkling wine and about 8 ounces of soda water. Stir once and pour into glasses with a berry or lemon wheel in each.

Do not add the sparkling wine early. It goes flat in the pitcher, and you lose the point of a spritz. If you are planning a larger gathering, our party planner page is a good place to start, and our mixers section has soda water and other bar basics.

As always, this is for guests 21 and over, and it helps to have water and food on the table.

What if you want a ready-to-drink instead?

Not every holiday or party calls for a muddler. If you want the spritz idea without the work, the ready-to-drink section at CBC Liquors is where to look. These are cans that are ready to pour over ice and go.

For something fruity and bright, try SUN CRUISER Blueberry Lemonade, which brings berry and lemon together in a way that echoes this drink. SUN CRUISER Classic Iced Tea Vodka is a lighter, tea-based option for guests who want something less sweet.

If your crowd leans toward cocktails, the Cut Water Tiki Rum Mai Tai and Cut Water Lime Margarita are in stock too. For margarita fans, we also have CASAMIGOS Classic Lime Margarita and CASAMIGOS Spicy Margarita. None of these taste exactly like a blackberry limoncello spritz, but they fill the same role of an easy, citrus-forward drink.

Can you change the recipe?

Yes, and it is forgiving. Swap blackberries for raspberries or blueberries if that is what you have. Use a splash of lemon-lime seltzer in place of plain soda for extra citrus. A sprig of thyme or mint muddled in with the berries adds a herbal note.

For a lighter version, use less limoncello and more soda. For a stronger one, resist adding more liqueur and instead choose a drier sparkling wine so the drink stays balanced.

If you like experimenting with other liqueurs, the liqueur section has plenty of options to explore, and the seltzers section is handy if you want something fizzy to top a drink.

Where can you pick up what you need in Westford?

CBC Liquors is at 142 Littleton Rd in Westford. We are open Sunday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday through Thursday 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Pickup runs on those same hours.

We also offer delivery, with hours of Sunday 10:00 AM to 7:30 PM, Monday through Thursday 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM, and Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 9:30 PM. If you are nearby, check our delivery pages for Chelmsford and Acton to see how it works for your town.

We hold a 4.7 out of 5 rating on Google from 339 reviews. If you are putting together a drink and are not sure what to pair with it, ask at the counter.