Cocktail Aperol Spritz (Aperol Spritz) – recipe, history, photos

In a country with such cultural diversity as Italy, where regional languages, cuisine and drink are so different even after 150 years of unity, it would not be correct to use the phrase “national aperitif”. But when it comes to northern Italy, there are quite strong arguments in favor of such an aperitif, the Aperol Syringe cocktail.

Outside, spring is gathering momentum. The mood improves with every millimeter of melting snow. I wanted to write about something very light and fresh, about something that evokes the feeling of summer. I remembered prosecco, Italy, the Veneto region, where this amazing sparkling wine is prepared. I remembered Aperol Syringe, a cocktail that conquers summer Europe for the last decade. But he is painfully simple …

The growing popularity of the Aperol Syringe cocktail in recent years is due to the work of talented advertisers. Meeting friends after work or school with this refreshing aperitif in the Italian region of Veneto has become a tradition for a long time. This practice later spread throughout Italy due to Campari Group’s aggressive advertising campaigns aimed primarily at young people. During the global crisis, when the younger generation could not afford to visit restaurants, Aperol Syringe for cheap snacks in bars became a worthy alternative.

Spritzer, spritz and Hamburgs

The word “spritz” itself is a general term associated with the Austria-Hungary of the century before last, where there was a tradition of adding a “splash” (German: spritz) of water to the wines of northern Italy. Then Venice was under the rule of Austria. Rumor has it that the strong wines that were prepared on Italian lands were too bold for the refined palate of the Habsburgs, so a few drops of water were used to soften them.

Spritzer (English pronunciation) got its current definition at the beginning of the 20th century: a cocktail based on wine with the addition of soda, and in northern Italy with a fair amount of bitter liquor (from the category of bitters). Such liqueurs within the “boot” are produced in a large assortment (Aperol, Campari, Cynar, etc.), each of them brings unique aromatic and flavoring shades to the cocktail. The recipe, ingredients, proportions, glass shape and garnish in spritzers vary from bar to bar and city to city in Italy, but one thing remains the same throughout the country: when ordering a Spritz cocktail, the drinker must always specify their preferred liquor.

Aperol Syringe (Aperol Spritz)

According to the Campari Group, more than 300 Aperol-based cocktails are drunk daily in the Veneto region alone. Guess how many of these cocktails are Sprits?

Despite the early invention, Aperol began to gain popularity only in the 50s, when the marketers of Barbieri Fratelli decided that a bright symbol in the form of a refreshing cocktail was needed to communicate with the consumer, which Aperol Syringe became. Later, their strategy was continued by the new owners, the Campari Group. Marketers have found that the ideal Aperol Syringe is a mixture of 3 parts prosecco sparkling wine (after all, a regional product), 2 parts Aperol and 1 part soda. The proportions of “3-2-1” gave rise to an advertising company at the beginning of the XNUMXs, but they took root as classic ones.

Subtleties, ingredients, proportions, variations

Aperol Spritz is definitely a summer cocktail. It refreshes, quenches thirst, uplifts. The main role here is given to Aperol with its expressive citrus taste and bright bitterness. Prosecco “dries” the cocktail, gives it that very freshness, and also reveals some flavor (mainly herbal) shades of an aperitif that are difficult to taste in its pure form. Preparing Aperol Syringe is very simple, but to achieve the best result, we recommend that you consider the following factors:

• Ice: Use the large cubes needed to slowly dilute the drink, and be sure to refrigerate the prosecco and glasses before preparing the cocktail.
• Prosecco: Any dry sparkling wine will do (prosecco has only become a classic because it is a regional product, and the Cinzano Prosecco listed on the Aperol bottle is simply from the Campari Group), but the wine should be as dry as possible. However, it is prosecco, in its uniqueness, that suits this cocktail in the best possible way.
• Water: in the classics soda, it is also seltzer, you can use ordinary sparkling water, often tonic is used.
• Glass: there is no fundamental difference here, it can be a tall glass, or it can be an ordinary rock. It is more important to serve the cocktail with a straw or a swizzle stick so that you can mix it before drinking the cocktail, otherwise you will first taste all the delights of sparkling with water and only then bitter Aperol.

The proportions of “3-2-1” are good, but not categorical. Definitely, you can reduce the amount of water to that very “splash”, and, on the contrary, increase the amount of Aperol. If you decide to try Spritz with another liquor, feel free to do 1:1:1. In general, as mentioned above, this cocktail has a huge number of variations, and each bartender has his own vision of the Syringe with Aperol. The classic proportion is popular in Padua, but in Venice you will most likely be served a Syringe based on ordinary dry white wine instead of prosecco, and a salted olive will join the orange slice.

In 2011, the Campari Group launched a ready-to-drink version of Aperol Spritz that contains just 8% alcohol.

In English bars in Aperol Syringe they can add a little gin (half of the volume of Aperol) – also interesting. Pasha (revered imbayber Scomorokh) in his material about this cocktail also suggested making Aperol Flip, which, if you replace dry champagne with prosecco in it, very much resembles Aperol Syringe, though with an element of sour. I think it would make a great mixed drink for the spring/summer transition.