Spritz is the Italian aperitivo par excellence. Known by all and sipped at least once, it has an unmistakable flavor and color. Above all, this cocktail is the most loved by Italians and has an extremely rooted history. Let’s find out more about Italy‘s most famous long drink.

Spritz: a bit of history

The origins of this cocktail date back to 1800, when the troops of the Austrian empire occupied Lombardy and Veneto. They used to lengthen local wines, too alcoholic for their tastes, with a splash of sparkling water. This custom was called Spritzen and hence the name Spritz. In addition, even today in Trieste, Habsburg until 1918, there is the custom of “sprayed wine”. As a cocktail, however, the Spritz was presumably born between the 1920s and the 1930s between Padua and Venice. It provided for equal quantities of white wine and soda.

Aperol conquers the word

Only later did people decide to combine Aperol, a bitter alcoholic aperitif that the Barbieri brothers created and presented at the Padua Fair in 1919. In fact, the so-called Aperol Spritz first spread to Venice and then to Padua between the 1940s and 1950s. Since 2011, the International Bartenders Association (IBA) has officially recognized it under the name “Venetian spritz” or simply “spritz”.

Spritz: the original

The preparation of this cocktail, although it may have some variations, must respect some rules:

• 40% white wine, 30% extremely sparkling mineral water.
• The remaining 30% must be prepared with a mixture of liqueurs: Aperol is used in Padua.

The Venetian recipe calls for:

• ⅓ of sparkling white wine
• A third of bitters
• ⅓ of sparkling water

Instead, the official IBA recipe calls for:

• 9cl of prosecco
• 6cl of Aperol
• Q.b of soda / soda

For this cocktail you can use the old-fashioned glass or the wine glass with stem, extremely scenographic.

Variations of Spritz

There are numerous variations of the spritz by region. In addition to Aperol, Campari, Select, Cynar or China Martini. You can find the variant with red wine in Friuli Venezia Giulia. In Brescia there is the variant called Pirlo, in which still white wine is used instead of sparkling wine.

Ingredients

90 ml Prosecco
60 ml Aperol
A splash of soda
½ slice of orange
Ice

Preparing time: 5 min

Serves: 1

Directions

To prepare it, start by pouring the ice into a wine glass, filling it to the brim. Then pour the prosecco. Subsequently, pour the Aperol. Finally put a splash of soda or very sparkling water. Add a little more ice and mix gently with the stirrer. Garnish with half an orange slice and it’s ready.

Enjoy your Spritz!

(credits: Freepik)