Whatever did we drink before the Spritz came along? It’s the ideal refresher, offering an enticing balance of bitter and sweet. It’s also as easy to make as three-two-one—that’s three parts Prosecco, two parts an Italian aperitivo and one part soda water.
When the aperitivo is Aperol, you have a drink that feels like a cocktail but is no more potent than wine and is ice-cold, sparkling and such a gorgeous orange colour. It’s no wonder Drinks International listed the Aperol Spritz among the world’s top 10 bestselling cocktails. The only question is: Why did it take so long to become a star?
History of the Aperol Spritz
Luigi and Silvio Barbieri started working on the formula for Aperol in 1912 in the lab at their father’s liqueur factory in Padua, Italy. The success of Campari, which had debuted in 1860, was undoubtedly an inspiration, as it has been for hundreds of other Italian aperitivi (such as Bordiga and Luxardo Bitter Rosso), but the brothers wanted something a touch more easygoing, not quite so bitter and with less than half of Campari’s 25 percent alcohol. Playing with oranges, rhubarb and a vast inventory of herbs and botanicals, they achieved perfection seven years later.
The public first tasted Aperol in 1919 at a trade fair in Padua, where it was served with ice and soda and was, by all accounts, a hit. But the country was crowded with vividly colourful aperitivi, and Italians are as loyal to their regional brands as they are to their soccer teams.
In Trentino, for example, Cappelletti is the favourite; in Piedmont, it’s Contratto. Venetians, meanwhile, prefer Select; they will tell you that the original Spritz recipe was created for Select, mixing Prosecco (Veneto’s local bubbly) with the aperitivo and soda water in the now standard ratio of three-two-one. Connoisseurs insist that the drink – officially called a Spritz Veneziano – must be garnished with one unpitted green olive.
Regional prejudices notwithstanding, Aperol continued to gain ground in Italy as the century progressed, largely due to some well-conceived advertising campaigns in the 1950s and ’80s. And yet it remained unknown outside the country. It was only after Campari Group bought the brand in 2003 and put its vast marketing budget behind it that Aperol and its eponymous Spritz grew into a global phenomenon.
Variations on the Spritz
These days, every summer brings a host of variations on the theme. A Spritz can be made with any vermouth, aperitivo or amaro instead of Aperol; they all have their own nuances of flavour as well as different levels of sweetness, bitterness and alcoholic strength.
How to garnish a Spritz
Through years of trial and error, fans have identified the most appropriate garnish for each brand—vital knowledge, as anyone who has experienced the off-kilter disaster of a Campari & Soda finished with a slice of lemon instead of orange will know. Lemon, however, suits a Spritz made with Cocchi Rosa or other vermouths (it balances the warmth well), while grapefruit has an affinity with Cynar, the deliciously herbal digestivo derived from artichokes. (Here, purists who insist that a Spritz must be some shade of orange or red will raise an objection – a Cynar Spritz is undeniably brown.)
But a wheel or wedge of orange is the default decoration for Aperol, Campari and Ontario-made Aperitivo Milano. The fruit is also right for Novara, a non-alcoholic but convincing aperitivo produced by Bark & Bitter in St. Catharines, Ont. – mix it with Oddbird’s Spumante alcohol-free sparkling wine for a splendid virgin version of a Spritz.
The Aperol Spritz, however, continues to race far ahead of its rivals. In Canada, it can no longer be dismissed as a passing fad, but are we ready yet to call it a classic? Let’s have another while we make up our minds.
