24 Aperol cocktails – step by step recipes for home

Greetings, my faithful reader! Today we will talk about the bright citrus liqueur Aperol, which is produced in Italy and exported all over the world. It is with him that the famous Aperol cocktail is made with the name spritz or syringe (depending on how you read the European name). But it is not necessary to confuse a mixed drink and an aperitif liquor as such.

So, what do they drink Aperol with? What cocktails can be made with it? Let’s figure it out.

General information about Aperol

Aperol is an Italian liqueur with a distinct taste of orange and herbs. It has a bright orange, sometimes even reddish color. It is considered an aperitif, that is, it is served before meals. However, this aperitif in its pure form is rarely drunk on its own, as it has a very rich taste. Most often, liquor is diluted with citrus juices or cocktails are mixed from several components (I will discuss them below).

Production technology

Manufacturers, of course, do not cover the exact cooking technology. However, it is known that the basis of Aperol production technology is maceration. This means that various tinctures are used to create a unique bouquet of taste.

It is also known that the producers of Aperol have not changed the original recipe and technology since the creation of the liquor, namely, since 1919.

Composition, strength and calorie content

All components in the composition of Aperol are vegetable, and there are several dozen of them. Among them: oranges, the fruits of the Italian cinchona tree (growing in the north of the country), gentian, rhubarb and other herbs. The composition also contains sugar, but its amount is very small, so the liquor is dry and has a distinct citrus taste with a hint of bitterness.

The standard strength of Aperol is 11%. However, for some countries (Germany, France) Aperol is produced with a strength of 15%. This is due to the laws of these states that do not allow the sale of low-alcohol alcoholic beverages in disposable bottles.

Aperol is sold just in such. It has branded thick glass bottles with brand designations, and the manufacturers decided that it was easier for them to replace the liquor itself than the original packaging.

How to distinguish the original Aperol from a fake

Aperol is a very popular brand and, of course, it is counterfeited. In order not to buy diluted or fake liquor, pay attention to the following signs of the original:

1. Transparent bottle with embossed Aperol lettering at the bottom.
2. Quality label.
3. Blue lid with brand logo and circular lettering.
4. The inscription Aperol and the code DAL 1919, which are located on the shirt going to the neck of the bottle.
5. Bottles purchased in Russia must have an excise stamp – according to the law (except when you buy alcohol in Duty Free zones).
6. Price. The original drink cannot cost less than 1000 rubles.

It is also not recommended to buy Aperol in small non-chain stores. Trusted liquor stores and supermarkets are much more reliable options that can be held accountable for the quality of their products. For example, in Moscow you can buy original Aperol in Krasnoe and Beloe, WineStyle stores, as well as on Yandex.Market.

How and with what to drink Aperol liqueur

Aperol, like all aperitifs, is quite a dry drink. That is, it has a minimum amount of sugar. This is done so that he stimulates the appetite, and does not interrupt him. Therefore, you need to drink Aperol before meals, and sweet cocktails with it – after.

It is recommended to dilute the liquor with citrus juice (orange or grapefruit) or dry white wine. Snacks are rarely served with it, as it is assumed that after the liquor a person will eat a full meal. However, you can serve with an aperitif a slice of orange, grapefruit or lemon to enhance the citrus aftertaste.

Aperol cocktail recipes

Next, I will tell you about several interesting Aperol recipes, as well as recipes with its analogues.

Classic Edition

Composition:

• Aperol (40 ml);
• dry sparkling wine (in the original recipe it is Italian Prosecco) – 120 ml;
• carbonated water – 20 ml;
• orange slices (3-4 pieces).

Making a cocktail:

1. Put ice into a large glass with a high stem.
2. Pour in the liquor.
3. Put in two orange slices.
4. Gently pour sparkling wine, then soda.

Decoration: orange slices.

Note that Prosecco is optional. You can experiment with champagne or sparkling wine, the main thing is to keep the ratio of ingredients, because the taste is highly dependent on the proportions.

Pink Syringe

Composition:

• pink gin (Gordon’s Pink or Beefeater Pink) – 50 ml;
• sparkling wine Prosecco (it is thanks to him that the name of this cocktail is Syringe, despite the absence of Aperol) – 20 ml;
• lemonade – 100 ml;
• strawberries – 4 pieces.

How to cook:

1. Cut strawberries in half and put in a glass over ice.
2. Pour gin.
3. Carefully pour sparkling wine into it and then lemonade, mix with a bar spoon.

Syringe Veneziano

Composition:

• Aperol – 50 ml;
• sparkling wine Prosecco – 80 ml;
• sparkling water – 20 ml.

Making a cocktail:

1. This cocktail requires a strict old fashion glass. You need to put ice in it.
2. First pour the sparkling wine, then add the liqueur to it.
3. At the end, you need to add a little sparkling water.

Decoration: dried orange.

The Venetian variant of the Syringe is registered as the official version and is recognized by the IBA. Despite the fact that it has the same ingredients as the classic Aperol Syringe, its taste differs due to different proportions, and the presentation looks more strict (now who will say that Aperol Syringe is only for girls who love to be photographed?).

Aperol Syringe with syrup

Composition:

• freshly squeezed orange juice – 20 ml;
• “Aperitivo Italiano” syrup from Miller & Miller (it gives the taste of Aperol) – 20 ml;
• soda water – 80 ml;
• orange.

Please note that this is a non-alcoholic version of the Aperol Syringe.

How to cook:

1. Pour ice into a glass, pour syrup over it.
2. Add orange juice, mix thoroughly (the syrup has a high density, so it will settle at the bottom).
3. Pour in soda.

Decoration: orange slices.

 Descanso

Composition:

• Aperol – 20 ml;
• sugar syrup – 20 ml (you can buy ready-made or cook at home from water and sugar);
• whiskey – 60 ml;
• mint – a few leaves;
• lemon.

Making a cocktail:

1. Crush lemon with mint leaves, pour into a shaker over ice.
2. Add liqueur, sugar syrup and whiskey.
3. Shake everything thoroughly.
4. Pour into a martini glass through a strainer.

Decoration: lemon wedge.

Aperol with vodka

Composition:

• Aperol – 60 ml;
• vodka – 30 ml;
• mint – a few leaves.

Making a cocktail:

1. Pour vodka and liqueur into a glass over ice.
2. Add a few mint leaves (you can pre-grind them gently to give flavor).
3. Mix everything.

Decoration: mint or orange slice.

with grapefruit

Composition:

• Aperol – 50 ml;
• grapefruit juice (freshly squeezed) – 80 ml.

How to cook:

1. Place a few ice cubes in a shaker.
2. Add liqueur and grapefruit juice.
3. Shake well and strain into a glass (strainer optional).

Decoration: slice of orange or grapefruit.

With orange juice

Composition:

• Aperol – 30 ml;
• freshly squeezed juice from 3 oranges.

Making a cocktail:

1. Chill the glass in the refrigerator beforehand, or put ice in it and shake it.
2. Pour in the liquor.
3. Add orange juice (you can pass it through a strainer if you do not like the pulp in the drink).

Decoration: dried orange or lemon.

With Schweppes (another tonic)

Composition:

• tonic – 50 ml (recommended by Shveps, but another is possible);
• vodka – 20 ml;
• Aperol – 25 ml.

How to cook:

1. Put ice in a glass.
2. Pour out the liquor.
3. Add schweppes vodka and mix gently.

Garnish: dried lemon or orange peel twist.

With gin (in English)

To prepare this cocktail variation, you will need to take an English gin – for example, Beefeater (20 milliliters), 40 ml of sparkling wine (it is recommended to take a specific drink, namely Cinzano Pro-Spritz), unsweetened soda – quite a bit, about 20 ml.

Making a cocktail:

1. Put ice cubes in a glass.
2. Mix liqueur and gin over ice.
3. Add sparkling wine, mix gently.
4. Top up with soda.

Garnish: orange peel twist.

Aperol with sourness

Of the ingredients, you will need Aperol liqueur itself (60 milliliters), lemon juice (about 30 ml is about half a medium lemon), sugar syrup (again, you can cook it yourself) and one chicken egg.

Making a cocktail:

1. Pour a few ice cubes into a shaker and break a raw egg into it.
2. Add lemon juice and sugar syrup to shaker and shake well.
3. First, pour the liquor into a glass on ice, and then the mixture that turned out in the shaker. Mix.

Decoration: dried lemon.

Quiet Aperol

For this cocktail you will need white wine (60 milliliters). It is better to take dry, as the cocktail should turn out unsweetened. In addition to wine, you will need Aperol (40 milliliters) and sparkling water without impurities.

How to cook:

1. Pour white wine and liqueur into a shaker over ice, shake.
2. Pour the cocktail from the shaker into a glass.
3. Pour in soda.

Decoration: orange slice.

“Paper airplane”

The composition of the mix is ​​completely, as they say, not aviation: you will need 30 ml of bourbon, a special herbal liquor with a spicy taste of Amaro Quintessentia and Aperol. You will also need to squeeze 15 ml of juice from a lemon.

Making a cocktail:

1. Pour Aperol, lemon juice, second liqueur and whiskey into a shaker over ice.
2. Shake everything well and pour into a chilled glass.

Decoration: small paper airplane and lemon zest.

Aperol Sauer

Composition:

• Aperol – 75 ml;
• lemon juice – 25 ml;
• sugar syrup – 10 ml.

How to cook:

1. Pour sugar syrup, liqueur and lemon juice into a shaker over ice.
2. Shake everything well so that the syrup is evenly distributed.
3. Pour into a chilled glass.

Decoration: orange slices and olives.

Тонущий (Sinking cocktail)

Composition:

• Aperol – 45 ml;
• white wine (Sauvignon Blanc is recommended) – 45 ml;
• elderberry liqueur – 5 ml;
• cherry liqueur – 5 ml.

How to cook:

1. Chill serving glass.
2. Pour Aperol, wine and liqueurs into a glass for mixing drinks, mix with ice with a bar spoon.
3. Pour into a serving glass without ice.

Decoration: cherry berry.

Betty’s operol

Composition:

• Aperol – 20 ml;
• orange juice – 30 ml;
• grapefruit juice – 15 ml;
• sparkling wine (recommended Cinzano Pro-Spritz) – 30 ml.

Making a cocktail:

1. Pour fruit juices and Aperol into a shaker over ice, shake well.
2. Pour into a glass and top with sparkling wine.

Decoration: mint leaf, orange or grapefruit slice.

Aperol Mist

Composition:

• Aperol – 30 ml;
• lemon juice – 30 ml;
• beer – 330 ml.

Making a cocktail:

1. Pour liqueur and lemon juice into a chilled glass.
2. Mix.
3. Pour cold beer on top (carefully so as not to foam too much).

Garnish: orange slice or zest.

Flip operol

Composition:

• Aperol – 30 ml;
• lemon juice – 30 ml;
• sugar syrup – 15 ml;
• protein of one egg;
• Prosecco wine – 60 ml.

How to cook:

1. Pour lemon juice, Aperol, egg white and sugar syrup into a shaker over ice.
2. Shake well.
3. Pour the Prosecco into a chilled glass, and then add the mix from the shaker (pay attention to the sequence).

Garnish: orange peel.

Ten Spot

Composition:

• gin – 45 ml;
• Aperol – 15 ml;
• grapefruit juice – 15 ml;
• lime juice – 15 ml.

Making a cocktail:

1. Chill serving glass.
2. In a separate glass, mix gin, liqueur and citrus juices. Mix well.
3. Pour the cocktail (if you used freshly squeezed juices, then use a strainer).

Decoration: grapefruit slice.

Aperol Royal

Composition:

• Aperol – 25 ml;
• sparkling wine (dry) – 75 ml.

Making a cocktail is very simple. You just need to pour Aperol into a chilled glass (you can use it in a flute) and pour sparkling wine on top of it.

Decoration: orange slice.

PS. Your Aperol

This is a rather complex cocktail. In addition to Aperol itself (40 ml), you will also need melon liqueur (usually they take Bols – 20 ml), squeeze 30 ml of lemon juice, prepare tonic (30 ml) and one egg white. You will also need a little sugar syrup – 20 ml.

How to cook:

1. Pour protein, sugar syrup, lemon juice, melon liqueur and Aperol into a shaker with several ice cubes.
2. Shake everything and pour into a glass.
3. Add tonic. You don’t need to mix.

Garnish: lemon zest.

Cheeky Negroni

Negroni is a strong cocktail made from equal parts of dry vermouth, no less dry gin and Aperol. As a rule, all components are taken in 50 ml.

How to cook:

1. Place a few ice cubes in a serving glass.
2. Pour on it in turn all the components.
3. To stir thoroughly.

Decoration: not required, as the Negroni is a rather strict cocktail, and this option is also “daring”.

Amber road

Composition:

• Aperol – 50 ml;
• American whiskey (bourbon) – 100 ml;
• lemon juice – 50 ml;
• maple syrup – 25 ml;
• a few drops of Angostura bitters;
• soda – 30 ml.

Making a cocktail:

1. In a shaker, mix liqueur, lemon juice, syrup and whiskey. Drip Angostura.
2. Shake thoroughly.
3. Pour into a serving glass.
4. Add soda.

Decoration: sprig of mint and lemon slice.

Punch

Composition:

• Aperol – 30 ml;
• dry vermouth – 30 ml;
• sparkling wine (pink, dry) – 30 ml;
• freshly squeezed grapefruit juice – 30 ml;
• soda water – 20 ml;
• sprig of thyme.

How to cook:

1. Pour crushed ice into a large glass.
2. Pour liquor, vermouth, juice on it.
3. Mix gently and top with sparkling wine and soda.

Decoration: sprig of thyme (put inside and leave an interesting flavor).

What can replace Aperol

Please note that here I am not talking about Aperol fakes, but about similar drinks consumed with various variants of the Syringe cocktail. Among the recipes there are also very unusual mixtures: for example, alternatives to Aperol are drunk with blue tea or bergamot liqueur.

Martini fiero with gin and tonic

Composition:

• drink from red oranges Martini Fiero – 100 ml;
• ready-made gin-tonic cocktail – 100 ml.

Gin and tonic can be mixed independently in equal proportions (for example, it can be Beefeater and Schweppes).

Making a cocktail:

1. Put a few ice cubes in a glass.
2. Pour Martini.
3. Add gin and tonic and stir gently.

Decoration: orange slice.

Rosolio Spritz with bergamot liqueur and vermouth

Composition:

• bergamot liquor – 30 ml;
• white vermouth – 15 ml;
• lime juice – a few drops;
• sparkling wine Prosecco – 100 ml;
• soda – 50 ml.

Making a cocktail:

1. In a mixing glass, pour all ingredients except sparkling wine and soda over ice.
2. Stir and pour into a serving glass.
3. Add sparkling wine and soda.

Decoration: lime leaves, but if there are none, then a slice of lime will do too.

Lillet Vive with lille

Composition:

• French aperitif Lillet Blanc – 40 ml;
• tonic – 90 ml;
• strawberries – a few berries.

Making a cocktail:

1. Cut strawberries into halves.
2. Add a berry to a glass with ice, pour an aperitif.
3. Top with tonic and mix gently.

Decoration: mint leaves.

Diver Spritz with white wine

Composition:

• dry white wine – 150 ml;
• soda water – 150 ml;
• citrus liqueur Blue Curacao – 10 ml.

How to cook:

1. Put a few ice cubes in a glass.
2. Pour liqueur and wine over ice and stir.
3. Add soda.

Garnish: dried grapefruit or blood orange slice.

Israel Spritz with cordial

Composition:

• three types of cordials (from pomegranate, lime and lemon) – 25 ml each;
• peach liqueur – 50 ml;
• sparkling wine Prosecco – 120 ml.

Making a cocktail:

1. Place a few ice cubes in a tall serving glass.
2. Pour the liqueur and cordials, mix thoroughly.
3. Pour over sparkling wine.

Decoration: a cloud of cotton candy.

Black syringe with Campari

Composition:

• Campari liqueur – 40 ml;
• sparkling wine Prosecco – 60 ml;
• soda – 20 ml.

Making a cocktail:

1. Place a few ice cubes in a serving glass.
2. Pour in the liqueur and sparkling wine, stir.
3. Add soda and mix gently again.

Decoration: orange slice.

Spring Splash with Citrus Gin

Composition:

• citrus gin – 40 ml;
• hibiscus and rose cordial – 15 ml;
• cucumber – 4 thin slices;
• lemon sorbet – 30 ml;
• sparkling wine – 100 ml.

Making a cocktail:

1. Shake gin, sorbet (maybe a little melted) and cordial in a shaker with ice.
2. At the bottom of the glass put ice and two thin slices of cucumber.
3. Pour the mix and top with sparkling wine.

Decoration: the remaining two cucumber slices (they need to be carefully folded in the form of a rose).

Lavender Spritz with gin on blue tea

Composition:

• gin based on blue tea – 40 ml;
• lavender syrup – 20 ml;
• sparkling wine – 120 ml;
• soda – 30 ml.

How to cook:

1. Pour gin and syrup into a chilled glass, stir.
2. Add sparkling wine followed by soda.
3. Stir gently again with a bar spoon.

Garnish: dried grapefruit or blood orange slice.

General recommendations for cooking

Alcohol is different. For example, rum and cognac are drunk quickly and after a meal to complete the meal. And such cocktails as a parachute (based on absinthe) “parachutists” inhale more than they drink. With Aperol it’s different. Any cocktail from it should be drunk slowly, trying to feel the whole range of taste – sour citrus fruits, rich aroma of oranges, light bitterness of their zest. Therefore, when preparing cocktails from Aperol, sugar is rarely used, because in large quantities it is able to kill the original taste.

An important recommendation is to always keep your cocktail glasses chilled. And the drinks from which you will prepare, too. This saves you time and does not require a long stay in the ice cocktail (and when it melts, it will change the original taste).

With that, dear reader, I say goodbye to you. Subscribe to new publications with recipes and reviews of alcoholic beverages, share our ideas with friends and remember that cocktail making is a real art, but you can master it even in the home kitchen. See you soon!