Roman Holiday Recipe
A Jungle Bird twist that trades rum for gin and amaro, keeping the Campari, pineapple and lime and adding a dark note of cold brew coffee.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 14%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Gin30 ml (1 oz)
- Amaro30 ml (1 oz)
- Campari15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Pineapple juice30 ml (1 oz)
- Fresh lime juice15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Cold brew coffee15 ml (0.5 oz)
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.
- Shake hard until well chilled.
- Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass.
Garnish
None
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone, there is pineapple and passion fruit in it, there is roasted coffee in it and it is layered, giving you something different each sip.
The technique
Shaking. Anything with juice, syrup, egg white or cream gets shaken: the shaker chills the drink and adds roughly 20% water, and that water is what takes the edge off. Twelve to fifteen seconds, until the tin frosts over. Under-shaking leaves the drink harsh because it never got enough dilution.
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
- Gin
- London dry gin: juniper up front, citrus and coriander behind it. Brand really does show here — Beefeater is sharp, Hendrick's floral, Tanqueray juniper-heavy.
- 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.
- Campari
- The red Italian bitter, with a bitterness that is unmistakable. Aperol can replace it, but Aperol is half the strength and clearly sweeter, so the drink comes out softer.
- Pineapple juice
- Pineapple juice. It foams on its own when shaken — that creamy head on a tiki drink comes from the pineapple, not from egg white.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
The Story
A modern riff on the Jungle Bird, the Campari-and-pineapple tiki drink from 1970s Kuala Lumpur, given an Italian accent with amaro.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Roman Holiday mixed?
- It is shaken and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Roman Holiday?
- Roughly 14% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Roman Holiday 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 Roman Holiday hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
The main ingredient here is also a dream symbol: Coffee in a dream
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.