Blood Moon Recipe
An amaro and tonic sharpened with lemon — bittersweet, fizzy and low enough in alcohol to start an evening with.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Wine glass
- ABV: 9%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Amaro60 ml (2 oz)
- Tonic water90 ml (3 oz)
- Fresh lemon juice15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Orange bitters2 drop
How to Make It
- Fill a wine glass with ice.
- Add the amaro, lemon juice and bitters.
- Top with the tonic water and stir gently once.
- Garnish with an orange half-moon.
Garnish
Orange half-moon
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone, it is carbonated, it drinks cool and easy and it is low in alcohol.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A stemmed wine glass. The big bowl leaves room for ice and fruit, and gives the aroma somewhere to gather.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Amaro
- The umbrella name for Italian bitter liqueurs, and no two are alike. Averna is sweet and caramelly, Fernet sharp and minty, Montenegro floral — which is why a recipe naming a brand means it.
- Tonic water
- Carbonated water made bitter by quinine — that is what separates it from soda. Sugar content varies up to twofold between brands, and that directly sets how sweet the drink lands.
- 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
A recent entry in the amaro-and-tonic style of spritz, which treats a bitter Italian liqueur the way a gin and tonic treats gin.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Blood Moon mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a wine glass.
- How strong is a Blood Moon?
- Roughly 9% ABV as served — lighter than a beer — a long-conversation drink that takes a second round.
- Can a Blood Moon 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 Blood Moon hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
759 recipes in your pocket
Cocktails and mocktails from 55 countries — ingredients, steps and the story behind each drink. Works offline too.
Similar recipes
Collections
Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.