Citrus Date Cardamom Spritz 🍹🇱🇧

Description

A light, sparkling Middle Eastern–inspired spritz sweetened with dates, layered with lemon and orange, plus a whisper of cardamom and orange blossom 🍋

Hook

Bubbly, sunny and gently spiced – this citrus date spritz tastes like a dessert lemonade for grown-ups, without being heavy or too sweet ✨

Ingredients

• Date syrup base (enough for 4 drinks)
• 🌴 80 g soft dates, pitted and chopped (5–6 Medjool / 2.8 oz)
• 💧 120 ml water (½ cup / 4 fl oz)
• Per spritz (1 glass)
• 🧊 5–6 ice cubes (about 90 g / 3.2 oz)
• 🍋 20 ml fresh lemon juice (1 tbsp + 1 tsp / 0.7 fl oz)
• 🍊 40 ml fresh orange juice (2 tbsp + 2 tsp / 1.35 fl oz)
• 🌴 20–25 ml cooled date syrup, to taste (1½ tbsp / 0.7–0.85 fl oz)
• 🌿 1–2 drops orange blossom water (optional, very strong)
• 🌿 1 pinch ground cardamom (about 0.2 g / 1⁄16 tsp)
• 💦 150 ml chilled sparkling water (⅔ cup / 5 fl oz)
• Optional boozy version
• 🥃 30 ml gin or light rum (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• Garnish
• 🍊 1 thin orange half-slice
• 🌿 1 small mint sprig or strip of orange zest

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Make the date syrup
2. Add chopped dates and water to a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over low heat and cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring, until the dates are very soft and the liquid is deep amber. Cool slightly, then blend until smooth and strain through a fine sieve. Let the syrup cool completely.
3. 2️⃣ Chill the glass and liquids
4. Chill a tall glass in the fridge. Make sure the sparkling water (and alcohol, if using) are well chilled so the drink stays cold and fizzy.
5. 3️⃣ Build the citrus base
6. Fill the chilled glass halfway with ice cubes. Add lemon juice, orange juice and 20 ml of the cooled date syrup. Sprinkle in the pinch of ground cardamom and, if using, 1–2 tiny drops of orange blossom water.
7. 4️⃣ Add alcohol (optional)
8. For an alcoholic spritz, pour the gin or light rum over the ice and citrus base. For a non-alcoholic version, simply skip this step.
9. 5️⃣ Top with bubbles
10. Gently pour the chilled sparkling water into the glass until almost full. Give the drink one gentle stir so everything combines without knocking out too many bubbles. Taste and add a little more date syrup if you prefer it sweeter.
11. 6️⃣ Garnish and serve
12. Garnish with an orange half-slice on the rim and a small mint sprig or strip of orange zest. Serve immediately while the drink is very cold and sparkling.

Total Time

⏱️ Prep: 10 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 6 min
🛋️ Rest: 10 min (cooling syrup)
⏰ Total: 26 min

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