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Pampelle Ruby l'Apero
Bitter Liqueurs — France
Reviewed
November 4, 2020 (edited August 10, 2022)
Appearance: Bright amber/red.
Aroma: Crisp sweet citrus with a bitter quality. It most definitely smells of grapefruit.
Flavour and Texture (neat): Sweet with restrained citrus flavours. Quite gentle and with a tangello or orange quality. As it sits in the mouth, and particularly as you swallow, grapefruit becomes dominant. It has a restrained bitter quality and the texture is neutral.
This is a fairly new apero, I believe. The main ingredient is ruby grapefruit and it does very much taste and smell of that fruit. It is easy to drink and has a mild and agreeable character. There is a light bitterness but it is not much more than that of a sweet grapefruit. I think there is also some herbal bitterness but I doubt they use wormwood - it is not that intense. It's probably gentian.
You can enjoy this lightly chilled from the fridge, or over ice, or with a mixer. However I suspect it would be quickly lost in a cocktail with heavier flavours.
I was enjoying my neat tasting sample so much I finished it off before trying it with any mixers. What a shame, I had to pour another. It's very refreshing with soda and a slice of citrus, and also works with sparkling lemonade. I suspect it would team spectacularly with brut or even a very pale and delicate Provençal rosé.
Oh! I bet it goes with gin ... one minute ... yes! it does: Ice, 1 part gin, 2 parts Pampelle, top up with tonic and garnish with a slice of lime. Excellent!
It's similar to Aperol, but more demure and restrained. It's not expensive and if you enjoy Aperol it is well worth trying as a change - you won't be disappointed.
"Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)
30.0
AUD
per
Bottle
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@cascode awesome, thanks for the feedback. Honestly I have as big of a sweet tooth as anybody, but prefer the gentle reminder that yes I am drinking alcohol not just candy. I have been loving that sweet juicy bitter citrus combo in a long drink so looking for Aperol competitors. This looks like one I would probably struggle finding stateside regardless, but always on the hunt.
@bigwhitemike I get the feeling you prefer a solid character in a spritz and so you might well find this too light for your palate. It is very subtle and gets lost easily - I had to use more in relation to mixers than I would with Aperol - probably twice as much. It was certainly masked completely by gin when I mixed it that way (using Dingle Gin) and the flavour didn't come through until I mixed it at double the usual quantity. On the positive side it is quite inexpensive so it's not like you are burning through a bottle of expensive liqueur.
Following along the @cascode tasting train and building a shopping list. This one sounds good. Do you feel like it’s too light for a proper spritz where it ends up tasting like a citrus soda, or does it have enough bitter/herbal punch to make its presence known in a spritz?
As always, I appreciate the suggestions of what to mix with it :)