Bitter Giuseppe Recipe
A low-proof stirred drink built on a full measure of Cynar: bittersweet, vegetal and lifted by a few drops of lemon.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 14%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Cynar (artichoke amaro)60 ml (2 oz)
- Sweet red vermouth30 ml (1 oz)
- Fresh lemon juice7.5 ml (0.3 oz)
- Orange bitters6 dash
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled.
- Strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube.
- Express a lemon peel over the drink and drop it in.
Garnish
Lemon peel
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone and it is low in alcohol.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Cynar (artichoke amaro)
- An amaro made from artichoke. It does not taste vegetal but earthy and caramelised; at 16.5% it is one of the lighter amari, which is why it turns up in long drinks.
- Sweet red vermouth
- Once opened it lives IN THE FRIDGE and should be finished within a month; a bottle left at room temperature oxidises in a few weeks and sours the drink.
- Fresh lemon juice
- Freshly squeezed lemon; one lemon gives 30-40 ml. It can swap with lime, but lemon is softer and less aromatic, so use a touch more.
- Orange bitters
- Orange-peel bitters. Where Angostura brings spiced weight, this brings citrus lift; in gin and tequila drinks the two are not interchangeable.
The Story
Created by bartender Stephen Cole at The Violet Hour in Chicago, it helped show that an amaro could carry a cocktail on its own.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Bitter Giuseppe mixed?
- It is stirred and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Bitter Giuseppe?
- Roughly 14% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Bitter Giuseppe be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Bitter Giuseppe hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.