Aside from the bellini, there aren’t many famous stone fruit forward cocktails. But peach and nectarine purees are delicious, if a bit viscous, and you can’t just dilute them with sparkling wine. If you’re looking for a low-alcohol sipper that tastes like summer, all you need is a little nectarine, some sugar, and some dry vermouth.
This recipe actually makes two cocktails – one for you and one for a lucky friend. Start by crushing a small nectarine and mixing it with sugar. Let this hang for about half an hour until the juices start flowing, then mix with a dry vermouth and strain off the solids. It is a bit complex, but the result is a fruity and complex drink with a pleasant acidity and nice almond notes. You don’t have vermouth? Sherry works wonderfully too.
In all honesty, this drink goes down a little too easily, which makes the lower alcohol content a big plus. It is also very easy to stack; just scale the ingredients to your needs, toss everything in a blender and pour it through a sieve into a jug. But I’m overdoing it myself – to make a couple of these peach-colored (or rather necatarine-y) beauties you will need:
- 1 small nectarine, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon of white sugar
- 4 ounces dry vermouth (I like Dolin)
Mix the nectarine with the sugar and let rest for half an hour in a small bowl or cup. Put the fruit in a blender (or the cup that came with your hand blender), add the vermouth, and blend everything until smooth. Strain through a sieve into two small cocktail glasses. If something starts to clog, stir the mixture in the strainer to keep it moving. Put a few ice cubes in each glass and enjoy.
