Colletti Royale

Substitutes:

• Tequila: You can also use silver tequila to make this cocktail. If you're out of tequila, use white rum or pisco for a different flavor profile.
• Cointreau: Any brand of Triple Sec or dry curaçao can be used in this recipe.
• St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur: Although St-Germain is probably the most popular one, you can use any brand of elderflower liqueur you’d like. For a lighter version, elderflower syrup is also a good alternative.
• Blood Orange Juice: Regular orange or grapefruit juice can be used if blood oranges are not in season. However, no matter which fruit you end up selecting, try to use fresh juice to make this cocktail as it will greatly improve both the drink’s taste and mouthfeel.
• Fresh Lime Juice: Freshly squeezed juice is always the best option, but bottled juice will work as well if you’re out of fresh limes. Fresh lemon juice can also do the trick.
• Orange Bitters: Lemon or grapefruit bitters are a good alternative if you don’t have orange bitters on hand.
• Rosé Champagne: Regular champagne can be used as a substitute for rosé Champagne. For a sweeter, rounder take on this cocktail, try using rosé Prosecco instead.

Making a Pitcher of Colletti Royale:

• Scale: To make a pitcher that serves 8, multiply all the ingredients by 8. That would be 12 oz of tequila, 4 oz of Cointreau, 4 oz of St-Germain, 4 oz of blood orange juice, 4 oz of fresh lime juice, 16 dashes of orange bitters and approximately 8 oz of chilled rosé Champagne.
• Mix: Combine all the ingredients except the sparkling rosé wine in a large pitcher. Add ice and stir well.
• Top up and serve: Strain to remove the ice, pour into ice-filled wine glasses and top up each glass with rosé Champagne (approx. 1 oz per glass). Garnish with dehydrated blood orange slices and serve immediately. If you have some leftovers, be sure to keep it in the fridge (make sure no ice cubes are left inside) in an airtight container.

Making it Non-Alcoholic:

• Tequila Substitute: Use a non-alcoholic tequila substitute; several brands are available that mimic Tequila's flavor quite well. Otherwise, you can use fresh orange juice as a substitute. You can also try making your own substitute by mixing together water, a pinch of smoked salt, a splash of tonic and a bit of agave syrup (to taste).
• Cointreau Substitute: Opt for an orange extract mixed with a bit of simple syrup to mimic the sweet citrus flavor of Triple Sec. Agave syrup can do the trick as well.
• St-Germain Substitute: Elderflower syrup or cordial can be used as a substitute for the elderflower liqueur.
• Rosé Champagne: Use a non-alcoholic sparkling wine, preferably on the dry side.
• Orange Bitters: To get the citrusy touch brough by the Orange bitter, you can slightly muddle an orange zest into the shaker before adding the rest of the ingredients. Also note that 2 dashes of bitter in an otherwise alcohol-free drink won’t raise the overall ABV of the drink. The drink will indeed chemically contain a drop of alcohol, but won’t make you intoxicated at all. Depending on your reason for not drinking alcohol and your degree of tolerance on the topic, you may decide to simply leave them out or to use them anyway when preparing your drink - both ways will work just fine!
• Proceed As Usual: Use these non-alcoholic substitutes instead of the regular ingredients, follow the original steps, and enjoy a non-alcoholic version.

Making it Vegan: