Grab a Bottle of Dimmi and Use It in Cocktails Like These
At 35 percent ABV, it's almost as boozy as a spirit
By Carey Jones and John D. McCarthy Updated September 21, 2018
Dimmi Cocktails
Credit: Carey Jones
In the wide world of Italian liqueurs, Dimmi is a bit of an outlier. On one hand, it has an underlying bitterness and the botanical complexity of an amaro, with hints of licorice and ginseng; on the other hand, it's quite sweet, with a huge burst of citrus and vanilla on the palate. And at 35 percent ABV, it's almost as boozy as a spirit. All its multifaceted flavors are fun to play around with in cocktails. Balance out its sweeter aspects and you've got a versatile liqueur that can dial up floral or fruity drinks in all kinds of ways. Here are three original drinks we love.
Easy: Dimmi and Tequila
Smooth, agreeable Dimmi rounds out the sharper edges of tequila and grapefruit in this drink, a riff off the classic Paloma. We'd call this an ideal brunch drink for those looking for something a little more original than a mimosa.
Dimmi Bee's Knees
Instructions: In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine an ounce of blanco tequila, an ounce of Dimmi, an ounce of fresh grapefruit juice, and 3/4 ounce simple syrup. Shake until very well-chilled, then strain into a tall glass. Top with two ounces of club soda and give a quick stir. Garnish with a big grapefruit slice.
Intermediate: Dimmi Bee's Knees
Dimmi's complexity makes it a perfect pairing for gin, and honey meshes beautifully with its floral-vanilla flavors. Add lemon and you've got a vibrant drink that manages to both showcase a good gin and gain an intriguing, hard-to-place depth from the Dimmi.
Instructions: In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine an ounce of gin, an ounce of Dimmi, an ounce of fresh lemon juice, and 3/4 ounce honey syrup (that's just honey, cut 1:1 with hot water and stirred until smooth, so it dissolves more easily in cocktails). Shake until very well-chilled, then strain into a cocktail glass.
Advanced: Dimmi D'estate
If you can still get your hands on ripe berries and sweet stone fruit, grab 'em. Labor Day may be behind us, but there's no reason we can't muddle up juicy fresh fruit cocktails as long as we possibly can. Here, raspberries and nectarines are joined by lemon, boozed up with vodka, and given a whole array of flavors from Dimmi; the anise and vanilla notes emerge in this one, making this a fruity cocktail with an awful lot going on.
Dimmi D'Estate
Instructions: In the bottom of a cocktail shaker, muddle a quarter of a white nectarine (cut into pieces) and three raspberries. Add ice along with an ounce of vodka, an ounce of Dimmi, an ounce of fresh lemon juice, and 3/4 ounce simple syrup. Shake until very well-chilled, then strain into a rocks glass. Top with an ounce of club soda and give a quick stir. Garnish with a nectarine slice and a raspberry.