Italians really know how to make refreshing spritz cocktails! These long drinks are ideal for the hot summer weather, although Italians enjoy a spritz all year round. They are most popular during an aperitivo but also at lunch time. Aperitivo is an early-evening drink accompanied by snacks. Italians like to make sure there is food available when alcohol is consumed.
To make any kind of spritz, simply use three parts Prosecco, two parts Italian bitter liqueur of your choice and one part soda. Garnish with an orange slice (and a green olive if you dare – olive is a popular garnish for the spritz in the Veneto region). If you’re measuring, that’s 75ml Prosecco, 50ml bitters, 25ml soda. If you’re not measuring, just pour and judge by the colour.
Make sure to have some olives, nuts and crisps available to complete the full Italian spritz experience! Or even better, a few slices of salami and pecorino cheese.
Need tips on how to plan an aperitivo at home? See my Ultimate Guide to Hosting an Aperitivo
Aperol Spritz
Aperol, 11% ABV, was created in 1919 after seven years of experimentation. The bitter liqueur was enjoyed all over Italy but especially in and around Padua and Venice. The bitter liqueur has 30 different botanicals, including bitter oranges, gentian root and rhubarb.
The Aperol Spritz recipe was actually created back in the 1950s but it wasn’t until 2005 that, as a result of a successful international advertising campaign, the cocktail began its journey to stardom. Made with the usual 3-2-1 ratio and garnished with an orange slice.
Campari Spritz
If you find Aperol too sweet, Campari, 24% ABV, is a better choice for your spritz cocktail. It is very bitter with slightly floral notes. Also, the higher ABV makes it a bit punchier on the palate. The recipe used is still the original from 1860 and none of the ingredients have ever been revealed. The beautiful bright-red colour used to come from crushed insects, but since 2006 the colouring agent has changed to an artificial red dye.
Campari Spritz is made exactly like Aperol Spritz and garnished with an orange slice. If you want to jazz up your spritz, I recommend infusing the Campari with strawberries.
Select Spritz (also known as Venetian Spritz)
Select, 17.5% ABV, is a bright-red bitter aperitivo similar to Campari. It was created in 1920 and became a popular post-wartime drink in Venice. Select is made using a blend of 30 botanicals such as rhubarb roots and juniper. The flavour profile is more herbal and floral than that of Campari.
Select Spritz is the original Venetian Spritz, made with a 3-2-1 ratio but garnished with a green olive. Unfortunately, the other parts of Italy usually skip the olive and use an orange slice but you tend to get olives on the side.
Bicicletta
The Bicicletta (meaning the bicycle) is basically a Campari Spritz but the Prosecco is replaced by white wine. The recipe uses the same 3-2-1 ratio, but the drink gets its fizziness solely from the soda water. Ideally, you want a dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio. Garnish with an orange slice. The most common glassware for the cocktail is a highball or a tumbler rather than a stemmed wine glass.
Hugo Spritz
The Hugo Spritz recipe was created in 2005 by a bartender in South Tyrol, a northern province of Italy, from where it spread to the rest of the country, as well as to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The cocktail recipe consists of a local elderflower cordial, Prosecco and soda water, with fresh mint and a lemon wheel for garnish.
As the cordial is made locally by fermenting sugar and elderflower in the sun, many bars tend to use St Germain elderflower liqueur instead. The original recipe was actually made with a lemon balm syrup but was later changed to elderflower due to it being readily available. Even the name was changed from Otto to Hugo.
Simply build the drink over ice in a white wine glass. Add the liqueur (around 30ml), Prosecco, a splash of soda water and garnish with plenty of mint and a lemon wheel. I’ve seen many recipes using lime, but in Italy they use lemon. St Germain has its own variation of the recipe on its website, which is made using equal amount of Prosecco and soda water. In Italy, however, it is made similarly to other spritz recipes but with a little less elderflower as it can be very sweet and very strong in flavour. Adjust to taste.
Limoncello Spritz
Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur, which is mainly produced in the south of the country around the Sorrentine Peninsula as well as the Amalfi coast and Capri. Lemon peels are infused in a clear grain spirit until the oils and colour have been released. This is then sweetened with sugar syrup.
To make Limoncello Spritz the Italians use the same 3-2-1 ratio, so around 75ml Prosecco, 50ml Limoncello and 25ml soda water, although no one ever really measures anything properly. The drink is then garnished with a lemon wheel and sometimes with something herbal, like basil leaves or a rosemary sprig.
Like Hugo Spritz, this serve can be quite sweet. I like to give it a little twist by adding plenty of fresh lemon juice and using the Limoncello to bring a touch of sweetness. I’d also add some Malfy Gin Rosa in there and always a sprig of rosemary for a herbal touch.
Not quite a Spritz but close enough
Negroni Sbagliato
Negroni Sbagliato was created by a bartender in Milan when he mistakenly used sparkling wine instead of gin (sbagliato means wrong/mistaken). Like with Campari Spritz, you could elevate the recipe by first infusing the Campari with strawberries.
Most commonly, Negroni Sbagliato is served in a tumbler with ice. Use 30ml vermouth, 30ml Campari and around 60ml of Prosecco. Garnish with an orange wedge. If you want to make it fancier, serve in a nice, stemmed cocktail glass without ice, but you need to stir the Campari and vermouth with ice before straining into the cocktail glass.
Americano
Americano is simply equal parts of Campari and sweet vermouth combined over ice in a tumbler or a highball and topped up with soda. Garnish with an orange slice and an olive if you want to give it the Venetian twist. The perfect summer drink!
There were many variations of the Americano in the 1920s–30s, with each recipe using a unique mix of vermouths, bitters and cognac, anything from a few drops to a full glass. But if we look even further back, it is likely that the Milano-Torino cocktail was the original inspiration for Americano. Milano-Torino, made with equal measures of Campari (from Milan) and vermouth (from Torino), was first created in Milan at Caffè Camparino in the 1860s. By adding soda water, they created Americano, which was a popular drink of choice amongst American tourists.
Do you have a favourite spritz? Do you prefer Aperol or Campari?
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