Ingredients
- 1 oz Melon Liqueur
- 45 ml Grapefruit Juice
- 45 ml Soda Water
Instructions
Combine Ingredients:
- Add the melon liqueur, grapefruit juice, and soda water into a cocktail glass filled with ice.
Mix and Serve:
- Stir gently and serve immediately.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition:
Where it came from
The Spumoni is a 1980s Italian aperitivo riff on the same template that built the Aperol Spritz: a bitter or fruit liqueur, a citrus juice, and soda water served long over ice. It traveled out of Northern Italy through bartender exchange programs in the late 1990s and is now a staple on Italian-American cocktail menus.
It sits in the spritz family with the Aperol Spritz, the Hugo, and the Bicicletta. All four lean on a low-ABV liqueur and a long pour for the pre-dinner slot. The Spumoni separates itself by leaning on melon liqueur instead of the usual orange or elderflower base.
Best ordered before a meal, on a warm afternoon, when the goal is to stretch one drink across an hour without losing flavour. Not a cocktail-bar nightcap and not a strong pour.
What it tastes like
Sweet melon up front, sharp grapefruit through the middle, soda water lift on the finish. The cocktail is sweet on first sip and dry on the second, which is what gives the Spumoni its aperitivo character. The bitterness comes from the grapefruit pith, not the liqueur.
Around 6 percent ABV in the glass once the soda is added. One ounce of melon liqueur in a tall pour drinks like a long aperitivo, which is exactly the Spumoni brief. Two pours stretches an evening; three pours is a whole afternoon.
The technique
Fill a tall highball glass with ice. Pour one ounce of melon liqueur straight in, top with one and a half ounces of fresh pink grapefruit juice, top again with one and a half ounces of cold soda water. Stir once with a bar spoon to combine without losing the carbonation.
Garnish with a thin pink grapefruit wedge on the rim. Use the freshest grapefruit available; bottled grapefruit juice is too sweet and lacks the pith-bitterness that gives the cocktail its dry edge.
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Ingredient Spotlight
The bottles that make or break this drink.
The melon liqueur
- Use
- Midori melon liqueur or any 20 percent ABV honeydew melon liqueur.
- Skip
- Watermelon schnapps or melon syrup. Different sugar curve and wrong fruit weight.
- Why
- Melon liqueur is the load-bearing wall of the Spumoni. The bright green colour and the honeydew sweetness are what make the cocktail recognisable, and Midori has been the standard call since the cocktail crossed the Atlantic.
The grapefruit juice
- Use
- Fresh-squeezed pink grapefruit juice.
- Skip
- Bottled grapefruit cocktail. Too sweet.
- Why
- Grapefruit juice is what pulls the cocktail dry. The pith bitterness and the natural acid balance against the melon liqueur sweetness; without the fresh juice the Spumoni reads as a one-note sweet drink.
The soda water
- Use
- Plain soda water or a neutral sparkling mineral water.
- Skip
- Tonic water or flavoured sparkling water.
- Why
- Soda water adds length and lift without adding flavour. The carbonation is what carries the aroma to the nose; flat water in this build flattens the whole cocktail.
Three Variations
Three real ways bartenders riff on this drink. Same idea, three different jackets.
The standard build
- Spumoni, long over ice
- One ounce melon liqueur, one and a half ounces fresh grapefruit juice, top with one and a half ounces soda water, served in a highball over ice.
The Prosecco build
- Spumoni Royale
- Replace the soda with cold Prosecco. Drinks closer to an Aperol Spritz cousin and lifts the ABV to around 9 percent.
The bitter build
- Spumoni Amaro
- Add half an ounce of Campari to the standard build. Pulls the cocktail into Negroni Spritz territory and adds the herbal bitterness on the finish.
What if I don't have…
Quick substitutions for when the bottle shop is closed.
Elderflower liqueur with a teaspoon of honeydew syrup. Loses the green colour; keeps the floral sweetness.
Bottled grapefruit juice with a quarter ounce of fresh lime juice to add the missing acid.
Sparkling mineral water or a club soda in a pinch. Avoid tonic; the quinine fights the melon.
A wine glass works for the Prosecco build. A rocks glass works for a shorter pour with less soda.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers to what people search for after Googling this drink.
What is in a Spumoni cocktail?
One ounce of melon liqueur, one and a half ounces of fresh pink grapefruit juice, and one and a half ounces of cold soda water, served in a tall highball over ice.
Where does the Spumoni come from?
Northern Italian bar culture in the 1980s. The cocktail crossed to American Italian-restaurant menus in the late 1990s and is named for the layered Italian dessert that shares its colour palette.
How strong is a Spumoni?
Around 6 percent ABV once the soda is added. The Spumoni is built as a long aperitivo, not a strong pour, and is meant to stretch across an hour.
What does it taste like?
Sweet melon up front, sharp pink grapefruit through the middle, soda water lift on the finish. The cocktail starts sweet and ends dry.
Can I make a non-alcoholic Spumoni?
Yes. Replace the melon liqueur with an ounce of honeydew melon syrup and a teaspoon of fresh lime juice. Keep the grapefruit juice and the soda water at the same volume.
Why is it called Spumoni?
After the layered Italian dessert that uses pistachio, cherry and chocolate flavours in three coloured strata. The cocktail does not use those flavours; the name comes from the green-pink-clear colour palette of the drink.
Can I batch it for a party?
Yes. Combine four ounces of melon liqueur with six ounces of fresh grapefruit juice in a chilled bottle. Pour two and a half ounces over ice in each highball at service and top with soda water.
What glass should I serve it in?
A tall highball or Collins glass with straight sides. The vertical shape preserves the soda carbonation longer than a curved coupe or a wide rocks glass.
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