Hugo, Aperol Spritz, and the like are getting some competition this summer: Viennese restaurateur and host Marco Simonis has created three extraordinary drinks for us that bring bay leaves, fennel, and Mediterranean herbs to your glass. Refreshing, easy to mix—and guaranteed to provide a little moment of surprise for your guests.
First things first: Nothing against classics—of course they can stay. But if you’re hosting guests in the summer of 2026 and don’t want to serve the same old orange or mint-green classics yet again, feel free to get a little more experimental with your aperitifs. After all, bay leaves and fennel can also look surprisingly good in a cocktail glass.
The accompanying recipes are by Marco Simonis. The restaurateur and passionate host runs a hybrid of a bistro, café, delicatessen, and event venue at the Dominikanerbastei in Vienna. He has been working in the restaurant and catering industry for more than 30 years. He doesn’t create drinks from the perspective of a traditional bartender, but with the intuition of a host who knows how to surprise people.
“When it comes to cocktails, I’m always focused on balancing different flavors. Especially in the summer, a drink needs to be refreshing. It should be easy to drink, fun, and surprising at the same time,” explains Simonis. The ingredients are particularly crucial for this: “In my opinion, an unusual combination only works with truly high-quality base ingredients.”
For his three summer drinks, he combines Sicilian bay leaf liqueur with gin and tonic, fennel liqueur with mandarin, and a Mediterranean amaro with Prosecco and orange. Three simple alternatives to the well-known classic spritzes—and three good reasons to restock your home bar.
Dalloro Tonic: A Summer Drink with Bay Leaf Liqueur and Gin
Bay leaves are best known for their use in soups, stews, and sauces. You’ll find them in a liqueur glass much less often. That’s exactly what makes the Sicilian Dalloro so exciting: It offers intense herbal and slightly balsamic aromas that, combined with gin, lemon, and tonic, create a surprisingly dry summer drink. Incidentally, in its homeland near Palermo, this bay leaf liqueur is traditionally served chilled as an aperitif or digestif.
“Bay leaf is a very unusual base for a liqueur. Because of its herbal aroma, it quickly became clear to me that the drink needed a touch of freshness—hence the lemon,” says Simonis. To that, he adds a gin that’s also herb-forward. “With a tonic that’s not too sweet, plenty of ice, and that citrus note, the result is a dry, very refreshing drink that works wonderfully even in hot weather. It’s not too strong and surprises you right away with its unusual base.”
“Dalloro Tonic” Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 cl Dalloro bay leaf liqueur
- 2 cl gin
- 1 cl freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Tonic Water for Mixing
- plenty of ice cubes
- 1 slice of lime or a thin strip of lemon zest
- 1 fresh bay leaf, if desired
Preparation:
- Fill a tumbler or a large long-drink glass generously with ice cubes.
- Pour the bay leaf liqueur, gin, and lemon juice over the ice.
- Pour in well-chilled tonic water.
- Stir gently once.
- Garnish with a lime slice, lemon zest, or a fresh bay leaf.
Fino Mandarino: A cocktail with fennel liqueur and mandarin orange
At first, fennel liqueur might sound like a drink for die-hard fennel fans. In a cocktail, however, the herb reveals a surprisingly elegant side. The “Fino” is flavored with wild fennel and has intense aromatic notes. Combined with fresh mandarin, vodka, and Prosecco, it creates a fruity—yet sophisticated—aperitif.
“Fennel brings intense essential oils and a slightly green note. I wanted to pair it with a citrus fruit that everyone knows but that’s used far less often in drinks than orange or lemon: the mandarin,” says Simonis. Vodka was deliberately chosen as a subtle base. “It gives the cocktail a little more body without overpowering the other flavors. The mandarin and the fennel liqueur harmonize surprisingly well together—the result is refreshing, light, and simply different.”
“Fino Mandarino” Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 cl vodka
- 2 cl fennel liqueur
- 3 cl freshly squeezed mandarin juice
- Prosecco to Top Off
- Ice cubes
- Mandarin orange segments for garnish
Preparation:
- Fill a large coupette or a bulbous cocktail glass with ice cubes.
- Add vodka, fennel liqueur, and mandarin orange juice.
- Pour in some well-chilled Prosecco.
- Stir gently with a bar spoon.
- Skewer two or three mandarin segments onto a small skewer and use it to garnish the drink.
Amaro d’Amare: Spritz with Amaro, Prosecco, and Orange
Anyone who generally enjoys drinking Spritz but is looking for a less sweet alternative to Aperol is sure to love Amaro d’Amare. This Italian herbal liqueur features notes of bitter orange, sweet orange, mandarin, anise, chamomile, and mint, among others. Mixed with Prosecco and a splash of soda, it becomes a Mediterranean-style Spritz that feels familiar yet has a distinctly more complex flavor.
“For me, Amaro d’Amare is true love in a glass: herbal, not too sweet, and with many subtle nuances,” Simonis says of his third creation. “The Prosecco adds a zesty kick, complemented by a fresh note of orange. Plenty of ice and a large glass are essential so that the liqueur’s aromas can fully unfold.” The result is an uncomplicated, easy-drinking cocktail “that almost vanishes in the summer heat because it’s downed so quickly.”
Recipe: “Amaro d’Amare Spritz”
Ingredients:
- 4 to 6 cl Amaro d’Amare
- 9 cl Prosecco
- 1 splash of soda water
- plenty of ice cubes
- 1 piece of fresh orange zest or a slice of orange
Preparation:
- Fill a large wine glass generously with ice cubes.
- Pour the Amaro d’Amare over the ice.
- Top it off with Prosecco and a splash of soda water.
- Stir gently once.
- Lightly squeeze an orange zest over the glass to release the essential oils, then add it to the drink.
All products are available at Marco Simonis, Dominikanerbastei 10, 1010 Vienna.
Our expert
He has been working in the restaurant and catering industry for more than 30 years, combining culinary artistry with a special flair for design and atmosphere. His venue at Vienna’s Dominikanerbastei is a bistro, café, delicatessen, design shop, gallery, and event venue all in one.
Visit the website: http://www.marcosimonis.com
