The Hummingbird's Wing
- Drinking and Thinking
- Mar 22
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 23
A bergamot Bee's Knees
This was born out of a challenge to create something that featured Italicus bergamot liqueur. We had a bottle at the bar which no one ever ordered despite its wonderfully unique flavor. Working with something that is so specific and unique is a great way to become familiar with it and is actually how a lot of cocktails are created. Bartenders nerding out on cocktail culture during a slow shift and challenging each other to create something unique but also accessible from an old dusty obscure bottle lingering on the shelf. Let's use that shit up!
I started out with a riff on the Bee's Knees which quickly morphed into a conceptual drink asking the question of what "bergamot" actually is. There is of course the liqueur that I was featuring, which is derived from the oils and juice of the bergamot citrus fruit, and then there is the actual fresh citrus juice itself. There is also another bergamot, which I'll get to later.
The fruit is native to Southern Italy as well as other Mediterranean countries and after way too much time spent researching it, the origins of the fruit and etymology are not entirely conclusive. Looking up images will also give you a bunch of very different representations, presumably of different varieties at different stages of ripeness. Despite the elusive details, the peels and leaves are used for their aromatic oils and the juice from the fruit is used in candies, jellies and cooking.
I was unfamiliar with the fruit, but of course knew the name as a unique ingredient in Earl Grey tea. The flavor in the tea comes from the essential oils in the dried peels of the fruit and leaves, but I had always thought it was actually from the dried flowers of a North American flower which is also called "bergamot" and has nothing to do with the citrus fruit. I also assumed that Italicus also used the flower because it is Italian and the flower is North American, so that makes sense, right? Obviously I'm easily confused, but it was my confusion that inspired me to start with The Bee's Knees in the first place because bees derive honey from flowers.
To add to my confusion, my knowledge of the bergamot flower came from an old British landlady of mine who grew large patch of these flowers in our shared backyard. She also liked Earl Grey tea, so naturally I conflated the two although now that I think about it she probably told me the difference but I didn't really pay attention. In any case, she grew them (as I do now too) to attract hummingbirds who love its nectar and are attacted to the colorful petals. To make things even more connected, the flower is also known as "Bee Balm". Pretty deep, right? That's why I call myself Drinking and Thinking. Anyway, you probably didn't read this far and I don't blame you because neither did I. I just want to make the fucking drink so here it is below. I have also posted this on Kindred Cocktails, which is my go-to cocktail site.
2 oz Gin, Bombay Sapphire or an American style botanical gin. I like "Listening Rock"
1 oz Italicus bergamot liqueur,
3⁄4 oz fresh bergamot juice/puree or fresh squeezed lemon juice
3⁄4 oz honey syrup (1:1 honey to water)
2 dashes Lavender bitters (I used the Cocktail Experiment brand)
5 drops orange blossom water
Shake gin, Italicus, juice and honey and then fine strain into a chilled coupe. Add the bitters and orange blossom water on top for maximum aromatics. You could also add a bergamot/lemon peel garnish for an extra olfactory experience, but it's not essential.
Obviously this works best with bergamot juice which is less sour but a bit more bitter than lemon, but lemon works okay as well. Fresh bergamot fruit is hard to find, but you can often get it as a frozen juice/puree or possibly bottled.