History and background
The Bellini cocktail is the ultimate prosecco cocktail. The Bellini cocktail with peach and prosecco was invented in 1945 in Harry's Bar, just around the corner from Piazza San Marco in Venice. The Peach Bellini cocktail is as Italian as pizza, pasta and Eros Ramazotti. The inventor of the fresh and fruity prosecco cocktail was bartender Giuseppe Cipriani. The inspiration for the cocktail was the 15th century artist Giovanni Bellini. This painter used lots of peach colours in his paintings which is why, several centuries after his death, this peach cocktail was named in honour of him.
Flavour Peach Bellini cocktail
Let's not overcomplicate things: this cocktail is basically just a deliciously fresh and fruity combination of peach and prosecco. Especially in the summer months when fresh peaches are available and they can be used instead of a ready-made or frozen peach purée. This creates a Bellini cocktail that is divinely fresh and full of character. To boost the peach flavours in the Peach Bellini cocktail, use Bols Peach, which also adds extra sweetness that makes the cocktail a little bit smoother.
Variation 2 Base spirit: Instead of adding Bols Peach, add a different Bols liqueur. For example, use Bols Cacao White. This combines beautifully with the peach purée and the prosecco. Bols Mango also goes great with peach and prosecco. Your Bellini cocktail will be positively delicious if you add Bols Elderflower. Elderflower is a great flavour to combine with prosecco!
Variation 3 Mixer: Prosecco is integral to the Bellini cocktail so we are not going to switch out this ingredient for another sparkling wine. However, you can make some delicious alcohol-free variations.
The first idea would be to use an alcohol-free sparkling wine. However, be sure to find a quality supplier or specialist seller. In a Virgin Bellini, it goes without saying that you should also remove the Bols Peach. The peach purée can stay and you can strengthen it, if you wish, with some peach syrup. If you want to serve a sweeter Virgin Bellini, replace the prosecco with lemonade or a lime-lemon drink.
However if you don't want your Virgin Bellini to overly sweet, use a tonic water rather than lemonade. This adds the dry, slightly bitter and herbal notes of the tonic water to the peach purée and peach syrup.