If the song of the summer is “Blurred Lines” (although I’m partial to “Get Lucky” too), then the cocktail of the summer is the Aperol Spritz. I started drinking these a few months ago when, after a long day of wine tasting, I couldn’t have a drop more of wine. Someone told me to get an Aperol Spritz, and the bubbles and slight bitterness of the Aperol was the perfect balance to all the wine I’d been having.
The bitter-sweetness makes Aperol similar to Campari, but it’s got an orangey taste to it. It’s actually owned by the Campari company now, although it was originally made by the Barbieri company in Padua in 1919 and got popular after the Second World War. Here are a few other comparative facts:
- Campari is ruby colored, Aperol’s orange (the one on the right above).
- Aperol has a higher sugar content than Campari, but less alcohol. Aperol has only 11% alcohol while Campari has more than double that at 25%.
- The ingredients used in Campari are a secret, but supposedly it contains Seville orange and herbs. Aperol’s made from many ingredients: licorice, fennel, aniseed, bitter clover, wormwood, valerian, gentian, bitter orange, cinchiona and rhubarb. That’s a lot of ingredients.
Anyway, every Friday this month I’m doing a bubbly cocktail that will help you beat the heat. So here’s today’s refreshing recipe!
aperol spritz
2 parts Aperol
3 parts Prosecco
splash of club soda or seltzer
orange slice for garnish
Happy weekend! Let me know what your bitters of choice is – Campari or Aperol. People get very opinionated about it.
grapefriend 
Sounds divine! 😋🍹cheers!
I love a good Aperol Spritz – I don’t live how inconsistently they’re prepared in the UK – there must be a way of politely guiding a bar person to aperolic success without them spitting at me. Tutting and rolling my eyes isn’t getting the job done
Show them this recipe when you order, you need it properly made 🙂
I definitely prefer Aperol spritz and that’s interesting how the spritz is getting famous around the world, once it was something drank only by old people. It’s one of the most typical drink in the North-East of Italy, the area where we (spritz and I) come from.
The original recipe is 1 part Aperol, 1 part Prosecco, 1 part soda or seltzer. Actually, the original spritz was white wine with soda, but it’s a long story. 🙂
Every good cocktail probably has a good story 🙂 Where are you from in Italy?
I agree, btw I’m from Treviso the area of Prosecco, half an hour drive from Venice.
Aperol Spritz is THE Italian National Drink. I absolutely love it 🙂
But one should remember that Aperol is quite unhealthy.. Nevertheless it tastes amazing 🙂
Why unhealthy, sugar and alcohol?
Aperol is unhealthy because the ingredient list also includes chitin. As far as I know consuming too much chitin is poisonous.
Is Aperol considered a wine or a spirit? The Spritzer sounds like something I would enjoy!
Spirit! Not made from grapes… It’s delicious.
I loooove aperol spritz. It’s the only thing I drank in Venice! But I hate campari in anything – I find Aperol much less bitter.
For me it must be served in a wine glass, with a big fat green olive at the bottom! Yum.
Agree!
Reblogged this on thedrinkdoctor and commented:
This is a very refreshing summer drink. I first had one in Las Vegas at one of Mario Batali’s restaurants. Campari is too bitter for me; I definitely prefer Aperol. I often sub Aperol or Cynar in for Campari in cocktails.
The hubs has been humming “Get Lucky” all summer which, I must admit, is an improvement over the shower renditions of “Dead or Alive”. Loving the suggestion of the aperol spritz. My typical poolside mojitos have been a little boring lately.
more coming every Friday this month – cheers to drinking poolside!
It’s one of the most popular cocktails in Europe, especially now in the summer. We usually order it as aperitif 🙂 Cheers!
Aperol spritz is the drink for an aperitivo here in our part of Italy too 😊
Lesley
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