Aperol Spritz — Venetian aperitif with Aperol

Aperol Spritz

Venetian aperitif with Aperol

Number of people

Ingredients

  • 1 ozSoda Water
    Fresh soda water
    Substitute: Club soda
  • 2 ozAperol
    Italian aperitif
    Substitute: Campari for stronger version
  • 3 ozProsecco
    Dry Italian sparkling wine
    Substitute: Cava, Champagne

Instructions

  1. Add 2 oz Aperol to wine glass filled with ice
  2. Add 3 oz Prosecco
  3. Top with 1 oz soda water
  4. Stir gently to combine
  5. Garnish with orange slice

Technique Notes

Prosecco before soda, and stir once from the bottom. Adding soda first makes the wine foam over the rim and costs you the bubbles you were adding it for.

Why the Aperol Spritz Works

Aperol's lower bitterness and citrus-rhubarb sweetness need less dilution than Campari, which is why Prosecco does most of the lengthening and soda only thins the mid-palate. Aperol is much the sweeter of the two, so a brut Prosecco is doing the opposite of matching it: the wine's acidity and dryness are what keep the drink from turning syrupy.

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