Name: Lovelight
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 40 ml Cognac (brandy); 20 ml Red bitter liqueur; 10 ml Vermouth alla vaniglia; 5 ml Cinnamon syrup; 2 dash Chocolate bitters

Lovelight
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Glass:

Serve in an Old-fashioned glass

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₃ fl oz	Cognac (brandy)
²⁄₃ fl oz	Italian red bitter liqueur
¹⁄₃ fl oz	Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth
¹⁄₆ fl oz	Monin Cinnamon Syrup
2 dash	Chocolate bitters

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist and square of dark chocolate.

How to make:

STIR all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably a large cube or chunk of block ice).

Garnish:

EXPRESS orange zest twist over cocktail and discard.
Garnish with dark chocolate.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Vermouth rosso alla vaniglia (e.g. Antica Formula) - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Cocktail of the day:

23rd September 2026 is Bi-Visibility Day

Review:

Reminiscent of a cognac-based Negroni with a hint of cinnamon spice.

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History:

Created in 2015 by John Stavroulakis at Zaxari kai Alati Bistrot Bar in Athens, Greece

More cocktails by John Stavroulakis

Nutrition:

One serving of Lovelight contains 169 calories

Alcohol content:

1.3 standard drinks
23.59% alc./vol. (47.18° proof)
17.9 grams of pure alcohol

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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George Jetson

15th February at 18:25

1 1⁄2 fl oz Cognac (PF 1840)

2⁄3 fl oz Campari

1⁄3 fl oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi Storico VdT)

1⁄3 fl oz Cinnamon Demerara Syrup

4 dash Chocolate bitters

Stir all ingredients with ice. Strain into chilled DOF glass over a large cube of block ice. Express orange zest twist over cocktail and garnish with dark chocolate.

A nice hint of cinnamon and dark sugar to play against the Campari. I upped the cognac, which was a bit lost in the OG recipe and added extra bitters to bring more of the chocolate/orange connection to the fore.

Mookie

10th October 2025 at 01:12

I hadn't ever considered campari and chocolate could go so well together!

John CARR

23rd September 2025 at 14:36

Didn’t have any choc to go on top, but still very pleasant. Has rather a fantasy-confectionary feel to me - like a gaudy Halloween costume. I had some VERY well aged home cinnamon sugar (finished pods go in a jar of sugar) - half a tspn was plenty, a quarter might even suffice. Loved the jaffa choc-orange combination. Happy day for differences and diversity!

Morten Carlsbaek

23rd September 2024 at 17:49

ok fine cocktail, bends well and rounded. I find other cognac cocktails better respect the cognac. It looks like a negroni in the recipe but does not resemble in the taste.

John Hinojos

11th August 2023 at 00:45

This was perfect. Just finished. We needed to find another couple based cocktail to have for our 27th Anniversary.
This one was perfect. Perfectly balanced with no individual flavour dominating. Would definitely do again.

Nathalie O'Flynn

29th December 2022 at 12:41

Sipping this right now. This was on my must try list as my husband is a big fan of Negronis and cognac is my top base spirit, I don’t buy dark chocolate but I did have some small chocolate balls filled with various spirits and had 2 left with cognac so sat those on top, did the trick. Great cocktail, rated it a 5.

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