Maltese Spritzer - spritzer or champagne cocktail?
A spritzer is mix of wine, sparkling or still, with soda water or sparkling water and some other flavours, maybe fruit, maybe some liqueur. When I first made this cocktail I forgot to add the soda water. And honestly, I didn’t miss it. So for my version of this spritzer the soda water or mineral water is optional.
Prickly Pear, bajtar tar xewk, grow wild all over Malta, I believe. So the prickly pear liqueur, bajtra, makes this Maltese. And Girgentina Frizzante is Malta’s own sparkling wine would make it especially Maltese. But however you make it, with whatever type of sparkling wine you favour, whether you add soda water or not, you will have found a refreshing and different cocktail.
Where did I find this cocktail? I found two different recipes for the cocktail. One by Mike Joy on the Couchsurfing blog, and one by A Maltese Pantry.
In case you’re wondering where to find Prickly Pear liqueur I bought mine on Amazon.
Maltese Spritzer
Yield: Makes 1 cocktail
Suitable for: Gluten-free diet
Ingredients:
- ~300ml sparkling wine
- 1 shot prickly pear liqueur
- dash of lime cordial
- ½ large tumbler full of crushed ice
- soda water or sparkling water, optional
- slice of orange, for garnish, if desired
- sprig of mint, for garnish, if desired
- 2 or 3 cocktail cherries, for garnish, if desired
Instructions:
Assemble & Stir once
Half fill a large tumbler with crushed ice. Pour in one shot of prickly pear liqueur and a dash of lime cordial. Fill the glass ¾-full with sparkling wine and top with soda water or sparkling water. Or, simply fill to the top with sparkling wine.- Garnish with a slice of orange, a sprig of mint and a couple of cocktail cherries.
Enjoy!
