History Of The Aperol Spritz Cocktail
The Spritz is a light-bubbly cocktail consisting of a sweet liqueur, sparkling wine, and soda water. Most popular of which is the Aperol Spritz, which was born in the 1950s, but didn’t experience it’s time in the limelight until Aperol was purchased by the Campari Group.
This was one of the first marketed cocktails by Campari, and it’s grown to become a global favourite.
What's the difference between Aperol and Campari?
Both liqueurs are bitter orange amaros, a type of Italian bitter liqueur. Aperol is sweeter with a lower ABV (11%), while Campari is bolder, more bitter, and has a higher ABV (24%).
What You'll Need To Make An Aperol Spritz Cocktail
- Aperol
- Sparkling wine & soda water
- Oranges for garnish
Bartender Tips
- It’s better to use mini-prosecco bottles so that you can open a fresh one for each spritz, as a larger bottle will go flat quickly.
- Expressing the oils of an orange peel can add extra zest to the cocktail in addition to the orange slice that you use to garnish.
- To slow dilution, it’s better to make your own cubes of ice with molds, as it will produce larger and denser ice than most ice machines. Better ice makes for a better spritz.
Variations
If you like the Aperol Spritz, or even if you don’t, the Hugo Spritz very well might become your new favourite. This one calls for St. Germaine, mint, sparkling wine, and a splash of soda. It’s a lighter, more herbaceous spritz with a nice burst of mint.
The Campari Spritz is another favourite of those who prefer their cocktails on the bitter side. So long as you follow the overall 3-2-1 formula, a Spritz should work with just about any liqueur, so don’t be afraid to get weird with your experiments.
