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The Garibaldi Is the Perfect Winter Brunch Cocktail

The Garibaldi Is the Perfect Winter Brunch Cocktail
Credit: Claire Lower

Great news, friends: it’s citrus season, my favorite fruit season. Some people go bananas for berries, but every winter I make it my mission to devour every clementine, satsuma, kumquat, and obscure lime I can get my hands on, while also exploring the wild world of citrus hybrids. It’s a particularly fun time to play around with cocktails, especially those that are traditionally made with orange juice.

The Garibaldi is one such cocktail. It’s very simple—nothing more than Campari and OJ—so the success of the drink depends pretty heavily on your juice. Fresh-squeezed orange juice is beautiful, but my personal favorites are tangerine (if I’m feeling sweet) or ruby red grapefruit (if I’m feeling tart). You can also add a bar spoon of simple syrup if your juice is too tart, but that shouldn’t be an issue during peak citrus season.

You can technically build a Garibaldi right in a highball, and stir the two ingredients together over some ice, but the real move is aerating the juice in a blender to get it nice and fluffy, then pouring it over the bright red bitter to create a nice sunset effect. (The red color of the drink is a nod to Garibaldi’s guerrilla redshirts, which is interesting!) It’s very beautiful, very delicious, and a perfect way to inject some sunshine into a wintertime brunch. To make it, you will need:

  • 4 ounces of your favorite citrus juice

  • 1 1/2 ounces Campari

  • 1 bar spoon simple syrup (optional)

Add Campari and simple to a highball and stir to combine. Add juice to a high-powered blender and blend until it looks aerated and fluffy. Pour half of the juice into the glass with Campari, stir, then fill the glass with ice. Top with remaining juice, and enjoy.