Cocktail recipe
Aperol/Aperitivo Spritz
Bright orange, sparkling and gently bitter—the long Italian afternoon in one glass.
Ingredients
- 90 ml (3 oz) chilled dry prosecco
- 60 ml (2 oz) Aperol
- 30 ml (1 oz) chilled soda water
- Garnish: 1 orange slice
Preparation
Add the sparkling wine and aperitivo to a wine glass with ice. Top with soda water and stir gently. Garnish with an orange slice.
Glassware
Large stemmed wine glass, cubed ice
History
The spritz predates Aperol and grew out of northern Italian and Austro-Hungarian traditions of diluting wine with water. Luigi and Silvio Barbieri introduced Aperol in Padua in 1919. According to Aperol’s own historical account, the familiar Aperol Spritz formula developed in the 1950s; its later global surge was helped by advertising and the Campari Group’s promotion in the 2000s. There is no securely documented single inventor of the overall spritz tradition. This recipe specifically uses Aperol: substituting Select, Campari or Cynar creates a different aperitivo spritz.
Mixology View
The familiar 3:2:1 ratio works because prosecco supplies lift, Aperol brings gentle bitterness and soda restores crispness.