Beyond the Bellini, there aren’t many famous stone fruit-forward cocktails. But peach and nectarine purees are delicious, if a little viscous, and bubbly isn’t the only thing you can dilute them with. If you’re looking for a low-ABV sipper that tastes like summer, all you need is a small nectarine, a little sugar, and some dry vermouth.
This recipe actually makes two cocktails—one for you and one for a lucky friend. Begin by chopping up a small nectarine and tossing it with sugar. Let that hang for about half an hour until the juices start flowing, then blend it up with a dry vermouth and strain out the solids. It’s a little involved, but the result is a fruity and complex drink with a pleasant amount of tartness and lovely notes of almond. Don’t have any vermouth? Sherry works beautifully too.
Honestly, this drink goes down a little too easily, which makes the lower alcohol content a major plus point. It also batches very well; just scale up the ingredients to suit your needs, then chuck it all in a blender and strain through a sieve into a pitcher. But I’m getting ahead of myself—to make a couple of these peachy (or rather, necatarine-y) beauties, you will need:
1 small nectarine, chopped into 1/2-inch cubes1 tablespoon white sugar4 ounces dry vermouth (I like Dolin)Toss the nectarine with the sugar and let it sit in a small bowl or cup for half an hour. Transfer the fruit to a blender (or the cup that came with your immersion blender), add the vermouth, and blend until smooth. Strain through a sieve into two small cocktail glasses. If things start to clog, stir the mixture in the strainer to keep it moving. Add a couple of ice cubes to each glass and enjoy.
