Cocktail recipe
Hugo Spritz
An Alpine breeze in a glass: elderflower, mint and sparkling wine with a clean citrus finish.
Ingredients
- 30 ml (1 oz) elderflower syrup
- 120 ml (4 oz) chilled dry prosecco
- 60 ml (2 oz) chilled soda water
- 6 fresh mint leaves
- 1 lime wheel, plus 1 additional lime wedge (about 10 ml / ⅓ oz juice)
Preparation
Squeeze the lime wedge into an ice-filled wine glass and discard the spent wedge. Add elderflower syrup, then prosecco and soda; lift once gently with a long spoon to preserve the bubbles. Clap the mint between your palms, slip the leaves beside the ice and finish with a lime wheel. Do not crush the mint into bitter fragments.
Glassware
Large stemmed wine glass, cubed ice
History
The Hugo emerged in South Tyrol, northern Italy, in June 2005. Bartender Roland 'AK' Gruber developed it at his Sanzeno wine and cocktail bar in Naturno, reportedly first calling it *Otto* before changing the name. His original spritz used **lemon balm syrup**, not elderflower. The elderflower-syrup version spread as an easier-to-source regional adaptation, with elderflower liqueur versions appearing later. This house drink represents the familiar elderflower-syrup evolution, not a recreation of Gruber's first pour.
Mixology View
A good Hugo should smell green and floral but finish brisk, never syrupy. We favour syrup over liqueur because it makes the house formula lighter in alcohol and closer to the widely adopted Alpine spritz.