INGREDIENTS

3 parts of freshly squeezed mandarin juice

7 parts spumante

Ice (optional)

Puccini is a very elegant aperitif invented in the late 1940s and named in honor of one of the greatest composers in history. Precisely created in 1948 by the barman Renato Hausmann, the Puccini cocktail is one of the most delicate drinks in the universe of bubbles.

It was invented at the Posta hotel in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Refreshing and lively, it seems to be the ideal companion for an aperitif .

The only disadvantage: the difficulty of finding mandarin juice, the main ingredient together with the spumante, in all seasons of the year. At that moment you can switch to the Bellini.

To tell the truth, Puccini can be considered as the winter version of the equally famous Bellini.

Preparation: Place the flutes in the icebox for a few minutes.

Cut the mandarins in half and squeeze them with a citrus juicer.

Strain and keep juice and puree.

When the flutes are very cold, remove them from the icebox and prepare the Puccini by putting the freshly prepared fruit purée first and then delicately pouring the very cold Spumante.

Mix delicately otherwise the spumante will lose its perlage.

Decorate as desired with a mandarin wedge or peel ,around the edge of the glass.

Extra info:

Giacomo Puccini (Lucca 1858, Brussels 1924) was an Italian composer. He is considered one of the greatest opera composers in history. Among his works remain famous La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Turandot.

In 1828, when the mandarin made its appearance in the Mediterranean Sea, it was called by this name due to its supposedly Chinese origin.

Sometimes we have mandarin left which do not look great. Peel them and taste: probably they are still so good for your Puccini !