A TAKE ON THE BELOVED APEROL AND FANTA COCKTAIL TAKING OVER THE INTERNET RIGHT NOW!
The old age debate of Coke vs. Pepsi - which do you prefer? I am a BIG Coke gal (preferably one ice cold and in a bottle) accompanied by some spicy Chinese food OR a delicious California burrito on the beach. Now when it comes to Mirinda, which is owned by Pepsi, and Fanta (owned by Coca-Cola) - I am obsessed. What is the difference between the two in flavor? While everyone has their own opinion on what differentiates the two, my take is that I find Mirinda a bit more concentrated in its "orange" flavor, a bit sweeter, and less fizzy than Fanta.
Call it nostalgia but I have fond memories of visiting India and going shopping with my mum, sipping on a Mirinda while she weeds through piles and piles of stunning saris.
I loved shopping with my mum but my fondest recollection of these moments funny enough involves me and my sister sipping on these Mirindas (in a glass bottle at that cause that's the best way to do it) while telling our mum which sari color we love best on her as she throws them over her shoulder for us to pick and choose.
Years later (fast forward to now)... you can only imagine my excitement when I was picking up a few goodies from one of my favorite grocery stores in the San Diego area- North Park Produce and spotted Mirindas in the fridge across from the cashier ringing up my groceries. I immediately asked if I could grab a few and sprinted across to grab these bottles. I couldn't believe it.
I love the feelings and emotions that certain foods and drinks can evoke and wow...did the memories of spending time together with my mum and sister in India feel like it was just yesterday as I opened up the bottle with the opener. It was a great reminder of why I love blogging and what I do. There's a lot of love that goes into every recipe I share on here and I just knew I wanted to feature a recipe with Mirinda in a bottle. Thank you for being here, thank you for appreciating what I do, and thank you for reading more about this trip down memory lane. I appreciate you!
Given that this is a low-ABV cocktail, I recommend serving it as an apertivo (a pre-meal drink). I'd serve it with my paneer tikka recipe and/or aloo tikki served with mint and tamarind chutneys. I would also keep things light and bright and accompany this spread of appetizers with a bright and refreshing salad (Hariyali chicken atop a bed of arugula or a light orange and fennel salad are top of mind for me).
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INGREDIENTS
1/2 oz Aperol or more to taste (do not recommend using more than 1 oz)
1 250 ml glass bottle of Mirinda (roughly 8.5 oz) but you'll end up only needing 4 oz
1/2 cup ice (crushed ice works best)
Straw (for serving), optional but highly recommended
DIRECTIONS
In a blender combine your Aperol and ice until it forms a slushy consistency.
Then, pour out about 4.5 oz of your soda if using a bottle OR simply just pour 4 oz of soda into a glass that you are planning to serve.
If serving in a glass bottle, use a funnel to pour in the Aperol slushy mixture. If not, just pour in the slushy mixture into the glass directly.
Serve immediately with a straw. I'm impartial to a fun paper straw. :)
~ Serves 1
Notes
You can most definitely make this beverage with any orange soda of your choice such as Fanta or even orange-flavored Poppi. Just know that the sweetness level differs for each one so you'll want to be sure to account for that when adding in your Aperol.
You can experiment with other aperitifs such as Campari but I think Aperol pairs best with orange soda in my opinion.
A lot of recipes call for 1.5 oz of Aperol (one standard shot) to 4 oz of soda. You can most definitely add more Aperol but I won't recommend adding any more than 2 oz per 1 serving. I found my perfect level of Aperol to be 1/2 oz per single serving - but feel free to add as little or as much as YOU'D like!
I think the fun paper straw is all that's needed to serve this one but if you are serving it in a short glass instead of serving it directly in the glass bottle - I'd recommend garnishing this with a fresh quarter slice of an orange.
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