Apertif hour and joie de vivre

May 4, 2022

It’s that time of the year again when the sun is shining, and it’s the perfect weather for making memories and just relaxing.

I really committed this summer to taking a pause, and savoring those moments. Call it joie de vivre, self-care, or whatever you want to, it’s less about the name but a feeling.

This summer, my husband and I committed to spending more time taking a much needed pause. Just at the end of the workday, in the yard, sitting in the grass, feet on the earth, creating our own personal oasis. With travel being incredibly difficult (hello lost luggage and flight delays) we thought why not try more of this everyday staycation. Shorten the workday, create a little meal or snack, prepare some beautiful, refreshing cocktails, and truly live life.

What we quickly found is an oasis does not have to be a faraway, exotic destination.

The oasis is wherever you find your own individual and personal comfort. That can be a quick meeting in a cozy bar with friends after work, making a home-cooked meal with your partner, reading a book in the afternoon sunshine, or taking a self-care day to focus on yourself with whatever you consider self-care — even if it’s as simple as walking in the grass barefoot on a crisp summer night.

We started referring to it as apéritif hour – and doesn’t that sound so much more exotic, romantic and lovely than just happy hour?

Rebekah Peppler, in her book Apéritif, does a great job capturing the vivid feeling of magic of apéritif hour or l’apero:

“L’apero is where lovers meet after work. It’s where films are discussed, flirtation blossoms, and friends squeeze into too-small tables and laugh and take selfies in all weather. It’s where fathers and daughters have wine and juice and chat about what to make for dinner, and where certain young Americans learn to sit alone, ultimately happy with their choices. It’s where revolutions are born over just one more drink. If you can’t tell, I’ll tell you: l’apero can be magic.”

An apertif hour with less alcohol; tell me it isn’t possible?

Around the time that we started to adopt this, I also had been flirting with the idea of drinking less alcohol. Unwinding with a favorite cocktail can signal the end of a long day’s work, and release some much-needed (if temporary) serotonin so I wasn’t ready to give it up completely. And if you are a long-time reader you know I keep my lifestyle low-sugar or no sugar. Read more about that here.

When I was looking for a spirit to fulfill my desire for a lighter, livelier aperitif I came across the most beautiful bottle and brand. It is called Le Moné. When I came across their stellar nutrition profile I had to share this secret little find with readers of The Glow Wellness.

Le Moné is made using all natural ingredients and we keep the calories/sugar/alcohol low so that you don’t have to recover from your time relaxing and rejuvenating

Highlights of this unique spirit

It’s made with simple ingredients — Meyer lemon peel and a few other citrus botanicals for added complexity, layered into a New York state wine, balanced by organic blue weber agave.
Low in alcohol (16%) – a bit more than wine, but less than most spirits and cocktails, sugar (2g/oz compared to 10g in Aperol or Triple sec) and calories (29.5/oz compared to approximately 68 in Aperol).
Agave is sweeter than sugar, meaning significantly less is used to achieve the perfect balance of sweet/acid while keeping the overall sugar content low.
Built on the Meyer lemon profile with additional fruit, floral and botanical ingredients there are four additional expressions including Meyer Meyer Lemon Orange Lime, Meyer Lemon Raspberry Lavender, Meyer Lemon Blackberry, and Meyer Lemon Cucumber. I’ve tried them all and they are all equally delicious!

My favorite

I love the Meyer lemon apéritif. Meyer lemon has a unique aromatic profile described as its – it’s sweeter and less tart than conventional lemon counterparts It’s good in so many cocktails it is hard to share just one.

How to enjoy

We like to keep our cocktails lower in alcohol without layering in a lot of extra sugar. We enjoy Le Moné in one of three ways, it’s just so versatile…

Over ice (you can add fun garnish like a lemon twist, or other non-alcohol elements like bitters to spice it up a bit)
In a spritz with either dry sparkling wine or simply soda water
As the base of a cocktail – we like to keep these lower in alcohol using just a splash of spirit (.5-1oz) relative to 2.5-3oz of Le Moné. There are lots of ways to build them into more complex cocktails, but we favor the low alcohol 1-2 step cocktails, and especially spritzes with fun garnish — and this works for every flavor

A lighter margarita

Lately I have been making an ‘aperitif-style’ margarita, since the Le Moné has everything you need for a marg – it has the orange, lime, and balanced sweetness and acidity, with added complexity from the meyer lemon and body from the wine. But it’s way lower in sugar than a typical marg – 1 oz of Le Moné has 2g of sugar compared to the Triple sec or Cointreau in a typical marg with 10g/oz of sugar. And with Le Moné there’s no need to add extra simple syrup. All you need to do is add some tequila and shake over ice, then serve with a salted rim.

The signature serve

The signature serve is the Le Moné spritz – 2.5-3oz Le Moné, .5-1oz of Blanco tequila depending on how strong you want it, shaken with ice and then pour into a glass over ice and top with soda. It’s a bit like a ranch water-margarita hybrid, and makes an excellent agave or tequila spritz.

Such incredible cocktails for the summer, knowing you can feel better about your evening drink, and enjoy that joie de vivre oasis….in your own backyard.