Prepping for an Oscars party this year? Why not try this updated Italian Negroni, with apricot liqueur and French dry vermouth? This Apricot Negroni Spritzer recipe is inspired by Oscars Best Picture Nominee, Call Me By Your Name, and the film’s Italian location, the apricot orchards surrounding the family’s Italian countryside villa and the French heritage of romantic lead character, Elio. Oh, and no peaches were harmed in the making of this cocktail.

Apricot Negroni Spritzer Recipe

1 1/4 oz gin
1 1/4 oz French dry vermouth
3/4 oz Aperol
1/4 oz apricot liqueur
3 dashes of orange bitters

Garnish: orange peel & apricot wedge

Glassware: 16 oz. Chateau Baccarat Tumbler

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and slowly stir to chill. Pour into a tumbler and garnish with a peach slice and a cherry.

*This recipe was created by television personality and entertaining expert Mark Addison, author of Cocktail Chameleon.

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A few weeks ago, I saw Call Me By Your Name with my friend Michelle. It was a really interesting movie unlike many I had seen in the past. It’s one of the few movies that I have seen with a focus on a coming of age gay love story. I left with an unclear opinion of what I thought about the movie and I am still unsure. I felt for Elio and his yearning to explore his sexuality, yet he seemed to do this carelessly, and at the expense of a visiting girl. I also was a little weirded out by the massive age difference between the two main characters. If Elio were a few years older, this would not have been an issue for me, though. Also, the peach scene. Ummmm….

For me, the highlight of the movie was Elio’s father’s speech to him and his acceptance of his son exactly as he is. He encouraged his son to explore love and to feel emotions deeply for others. His dad’s speech left me a little confused, though, as I could not tell from his wording whether he had wanted to experience love with another man and was unable to do so because of societal judgment or if he had just never really felt love at all, even from Elio’s mother. I hope it was not the latter. A life without ever loving anyone would be pretty sad.

Call Me By Your Name is definitely worth a watch and I am excited to see how it does at The Oscars. Be sure to make yourself an Apricot Negroni Spritzer and tune in!