The most-googled cocktail in summer is the original. Here are eleven ways to keep drinking it through autumn, winter, and spring.
The Aperol Spritz has been the world’s most-ordered cocktail every summer since 2017. Three parts prosecco, two parts Aperol, one splash of soda, ice, orange. Done.
What gets less coverage is the spritz family it sits inside. Italians have been spritzing aperitivi for a century. Hugo, Campari, Limoncello, Cynar, Strega, Italicus, Saint-Germain. Every one is the same template (low-ABV bittersweet liqueur + sparkling wine + soda + ice + a stem) and every one drinks different.
These are the twelve worth pouring through the year, ranked loosely from lightest to darkest.
The recipes
Cocktail
Saint-Germain Spritz
The most floral spritz in the family. Why you are pouring this tonight The Saint-Germain Spritz is the cocktail you make on the first Friday afternoon you can…
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Cocktail
Italicus Spritz
Italicus rosolio is bergamot-citrus liqueur from Piedmont. Why you are pouring this tonight Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto is the only spritz ingredient that has ever made an Italian…
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Cocktail
The Elderflower 75
Add 15ml St-Germain to the classic French 75. Why you are pouring this tonight The Elderflower 75 is the French 75 with Saint-Germain elderflower liqueur replacing the simple…
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Cocktail
The Hugo Spritz
The Hugo is the Aperol Spritz's quieter, more sophisticated cousin, and it is the drink that is slowly eating the afternoon-sundowner market in Melbourne, Sydney, and every vineyard…
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Cocktail
The Hugo Bianco
A Hugo made with dry white vermouth (Dolin or Lillet) in place of prosecco. Why you are pouring this tonight The Hugo Bianco is the Hugo Spritz made…
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Cocktail
Limoncello Spritz
Italian summer in a balloon glass. Why you are pouring this tonight The Limoncello Spritz is the spritz for a thirty-degree Saturday afternoon at a wedding on the…
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Cocktail
Aperol Spritz
You could argue the Aperol Spritz was invented in a Venetian piazza in 1919. You could also argue it was invented in 2017 by Instagram. Both are true.…
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Cocktail
The Ruby 75
Muddled raspberries, gin, lemon, champagne. Why you are pouring this tonight The Ruby 75 is the French 75 with crème de cassis or a small pour of Chambord…
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Cocktail
Cynar Spritz
The bartender's spritz. Why you are pouring this tonight The Cynar Spritz is the bartender's spritz, which is to say the spritz that the people who pour the…
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Cocktail
Campari Spritz
Aperol’s older, more bitter, more assertive cousin. Why you are pouring this tonight The Campari Spritz is the Aperol Spritz's older, more bitter cousin. The drink the Italians…
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Cocktail
Strega Spritz
Strega is a herbal Italian liqueur with saffron, mint, and 70 botanicals. Why you are pouring this tonight Strega is yellow Italian liqueur made in Benevento with seventy…
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Cocktail
Negroni Sbagliato
A bartender in Milan in 1972 grabbed the wrong bottle and poured prosecco instead of gin into a Negroni. Why you are pouring this tonight The Negroni Sbagliato…
Read the recipe →The rule with all spritzes: 3 parts wine, 2 parts liqueur, 1 part soda, over a wine glass full of ice, garnished. Adjust the wine sweetness (drier prosecco for sweeter liqueurs, off-dry for more bitter ones).
For the sourcebook on syrups behind the bar, see our simple syrup how-to.