I can’t get my Italian summer vacation this year either, which makes it around 10 years and counting now. If I could tap my feet and reverse Dorothy’s trick from the Wizard of Oz, I’d do so to be transported away from home, into a land far far away. Heck, I’ll even stub a bare toe if that’s what it’ll take.

Until such time, I guess I’ll continue to spritz my aperitifs at home - like un cittadino comune.

ingredients

• 1 3/4 oz freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

• 1 3/4 oz arancione aperitivo (I used one by Hotel Starlino)

• 1/2 oz chilled and infused espresso simple syrup (see below)

• Ice

• Orange soda, to top

• Dehydrated orange slices, to garnish

METHOD

• Brew a fresh cup of espresso. Dilute by adding equal quantity of water to it. Add equal amount of brown sugar to the mixture (ex: if your espresso is 30 ml, add 30 ml water to it and 30 g sugar to it). Drop a whole pod of green cardamom and 2 whole cloves into the mixture and shake well to dissolve all the sugar. Let it infuse for at least 8 hours to get a nice flavour.

• Add all ingredients except soda to a mixing beaker and stir well. Dump everything, including the ice, into a chilled goblet, wine glass, or spritz glass. Top off the glass with orange soda. Garnish and enjoy.