I’ll never forget the first time a bartender on the Amalfi Coast handed me something called a Vietrijito. It came in a blue and white ceramic jar, and the first sip was rum, licorice syrup, and something I couldn’t place — lemon leaf soda. That’s when I realized these drinks aren’t just garnished with a lemon wedge. The lemon is the whole point, from the Sfusato variety grown on terraced hillsides to the herbs scattered along coastal paths.
“The Amalfi Coast Cocktail Week runs September 23 to September 29, with events across eight towns.”
If you’re traveling with family, you probably want a few things from a cocktail stop: a view that keeps the kids entertained for ten minutes, a drink that actually tastes like the place you’re visiting, and maybe a limoncello that isn’t the syrupy stuff from a souvenir shop. On the Amalfi Coast, those three things are easier to find than you’d expect.
The best lemon-and-herb cocktails here aren’t at the tourist-facing bars in Positano’s main drag. They’re at places like Sea Waves Bar in Amalfi or the Loggiato Bar in Ravello, where the bartender knows which herb grows wild on the hill behind the hotel.
Where to find the region’s most inventive lemon cocktails
Not every bar on the coast puts the same thought into its cocktail list. The ones that do tend to build their menu around what’s actually growing within a few miles. At Rada Beach Bistrot in Positano, the Limoncello Spritz is exactly what you want at sunset — prosecco, limoncello, and seltz — and nothing more. But the more interesting drinks come from bars that push a little further.
The Caruso Gimlet at Loggiato Bar in the Belmond Hotel Caruso in Ravello uses freshly squeezed Amalfi Sfusato lemon juice with gin and homemade limoncello. It’s tart and clean and tastes like someone juiced a whole terrace of trees into one glass. Over at Franco’s Bar in Positano, the Green Eyes cocktail mixes tequila, St. Germain, lemon juice, cucumber, and an egg white foam topped with an edible rice disc printed with a Positano drawing. It sounds fussy, but the herbal note from the cucumber and the foam texture make it work.
One of the most unusual drinks I came across was the Agrumello Spritz at Bar La Terrazza in the Hotel Santa Caterina in Amalfi. It uses rotovapor bergamot alcoholate and sambuca flower sparkling wine, served with a piece of lemon still attached to its wide green leaf. And then there’s the Vietrijito at Sea Waves Bar in Amalfi — rum, homemade Falernum, licorice syrup, and lemon leaf soda, served in a ceramic jar. My husband, who normally sticks to beer, ordered a second one.
For the Vietrijito, head to Hotel La Bussola’s Sea Waves Bar in Amalfi. Ask for it in the blue and white ceramic jar — that’s the traditional Vietri presentation, and it keeps the drink colder longer.
Amalfi Coast Cocktail Week — a reason to visit in shoulder season
If you can time your trip for late September, Amalfi Coast Cocktail Week runs from September 23 to September 29 across eight towns: Vietri sul Mare, Cetara, Maiori, Minori, Ravello, Amalfi, Praiano, and Positano. It was founded by Paola Mencarelli, who spent 2023 scouting bars and hotels along the coast to make it happen. Each participating bar creates a special drink list with three categories: Signature Cocktails (local ingredients), RiEsco a Bere Italiano (Italian spirits only), and Cocktail Campania Felix (lemons from Sorrento, herbs from coastal hills, fruits from local orchards).
The week kicks off with an opening party at Giardini del Fuenti in Vietri sul Mare, with live music and pop-up bars. In Maiori, the Maestro Challenge — founded by bartender Salvatore Calabrese — has bartenders competing to create the perfect cocktail. In Positano, you’ll find rooftop parties and guest shifts by well-known bartenders. For my family, the draw was Ravello’s clifftop setting; you can combine a cocktail with a visit to Villa Cimbrone or Villa Rufolo, which kept the kids occupied while we took turns sipping.
Cetara’s bars do something unexpected: they incorporate local anchovies into cocktails. It sounds odd, but paired with fresh seafood dishes, it makes sense. If you’re traveling with kids who love anchovies on pizza, they might actually enjoy the savory twist.
Going deeper — lemon farm tours and mixology classes
If you want to understand what makes these drinks taste the way they do, spend a morning at a working lemon farm. The Sorrento Lemon Farm Experience is a half-day tour that includes walking through lemon and olive groves, learning traditional cultivation methods, and tasting limoncello, olive oil, and wine. Round-trip transportation from Sorrento is included, and the experience has over 2,000 five-star reviews. It’s not a cocktail bar, but after you’ve seen how the fruit is grown and harvested, the drinks taste different.
For a hands-on approach, there’s a mixology masterclass at Villa Treville in Positano. It takes place in the Salone Bianca and Botanical Bianca Bar, where a bartender leads you through techniques blending traditional Italian flavors with modern mixology using herbs and botanicals from the villa’s gardens. It’s intimate and feels more like a private lesson than a tourist activity. You can also book a private tour of the Path of Lemons, a walking route through historic lemon terraces along the coast, with tastings of limoncello, preserves, and even an insalata di limoni (lemon salad).
Book the Sorrento Lemon Farm Experience early in your trip. That way, when you order a Caruso Gimlet later in Ravello, you’ll recognize the exact lemon notes from the grove visit. It makes the whole thing click.
Why the Amalfi Coast’s lemon cocktails are different
You can find a limoncello spritz anywhere. But the cocktails on this coast are built around a specific ingredient chain: the Sfusato lemon from Sorrento and Amalfi, herbs grown on coastal hillsides, and a tradition of preserving fruit that goes back centuries. When a bar uses homemade Falernum or a rotovapor bergamot alcoholate, they’re not showing off — they’re working with what’s available. That’s why a drink like the Green Eyes at Franco’s Bar or the Agrumello Spritz at Bar La Terrazza tastes like the place itself, not like a menu transplanted from somewhere else.
If you’re planning a trip and want to build your days around these drinks, focus on Ravello for the views, Amalfi town for the ceramic-jar presentations, and Positano for the rooftop energy. And if you’re traveling with kids, keep it simple: a limoncello spritz on a quiet terrace while they eat gelato is still a pretty great version of an Italian evening.
Sip your way through the coast — one herb, one lemon at a time
The best drink I had wasn’t at a famous bar. It was at a small spot in Minori where the bartender walked out to a potted plant on the patio, tore off a few leaves of lemon verbena, and muddled them into my cocktail. That kind of immediacy — the herb is right there, the lemon came from the tree down the road — is what makes these drinks worth seeking out. For more ideas on where to stay and eat along the coast, take a look at this guide to the Amalfi Coast’s best experiences.
Sources and further reading
Walansky, Aly. “17 Lemon-Centric Cocktails To Enjoy All Spring.” Forbes, May 15, 2025. 🔗
Travel Amalfi Coast. “Unmissable Lemon Drinks on the Amalfi Coast.” 🔗
Live in Italy Mag Editorial. “Amalfi Coast Cocktail Week: The Perfect Shoulder Season Event.” 🔗
Lux Travels Insider. “Cooking Classes & Culinary Experiences on the Amalfi Coast.” 🔗
Related reading on Emily in Italy
Nocelle: The Village Above the Coast — a quieter hilltop alternative to Positano, with walking paths and trattorias that feel a world away from the crowds below.
A Family Runs Minori’s Best Table From a Tiny Kitchen — one of the most memorable meals I had on the coast, and a reminder that the best food often comes from the smallest spaces.