Aperol Spritz

The Aperol Spritz achieved global ubiquity not through superior flavor complexity but through perfect timing. When Instagram arrived hungry for photogenic content, and millennial travelers sought accessible markers of European sophistication to show off, this Venetian aperitivo was waiting—sunset orange, effortlessly elegant, requiring neither bartending skill nor challenging flavor commitment.

The drink’s origins are modest: Aperol debuted in 1919 as one of countless Italian bitter liqueurs – and there are many – while the spritz format traces to 19th-century Austrian soldiers diluting Veneto’s strong wines with water. For decades, Aperol remained regional, overshadowed by Campari’s far more assertive profile. Then the 2010s happened. Visual social media transformed the drink’s photogenic simplicity into aspirational currency, and the Campari Group leaned into the organic momentum with pop-up terraces and strategic partnerships.

Critics dismiss it as one-dimensional, too sweet, a drink for people who don’t actually like alcohol—criticisms that miss the point entirely.

The Aperol Spritz is a Session Sipper: low proof, minimal total alcohol, designed for extended afternoon drinking without major impairment.

At roughly 7% alcohol after dilution—weaker than most wines—this is true aperitivo architecture in liquid form. You’re meant to drink it slowly over an hour or more as ice melts and bubbles gradually integrate the flavors, stimulating appetite rather than satisfying it.

This is pre-dinner drinking, typically 4-7pm, when you’re transitioning from work obligations to evening leisure. The format works best in warm weather, outdoor settings, social contexts where conversation matters more than the beverage. Think terrace tables, languid Sundays, the golden hour before dinner reservations.

The low alcohol content means you can have two without feeling it, making this ideal for pacing through aperitivo hour without arriving at dinner already compromised. It’s not a nightcap, not a serious cocktail moment, not winter drinking—it’s specifically calibrated for that liminal space between productivity and indulgence.

Build it directly in the glass to preserve the prosecco’s effervescence. Start with ice—large cubes if possible, as smaller ice dilutes too quickly and turns the drink watery before you’re halfway through.

Pour three parts prosecco first, maintaining those bubbles, then two parts Aperol, finally one part soda water. No shaking, no vigorous stirring—just a gentle stir with a bar spoon to initiate integration, then let physics handle the rest. Garnish with an orange wheel, not a half-moon slice; the wheel provides more aromatic oil and looks substantially better. Use a large wine glass, ideally stemmed—the spritz needs room for ice and the visual gradient of colors as ingredients slowly meld.

Ingredient quality matters less here than in spirit-forward cocktails, but it still matters.

Any prosecco works, though bone-dry styles balance Aperol’s sweetness better than extra-dry or demi-sec versions. Aperol itself is non-negotiable – though I list it as an alternative on the ingredient page, Campari is too bitter here, other orange bitters lack the specific candied-orange profile that defines the drink. For soda water, actual club soda adds a mineral backbone that plain sparkling water lacks.

The most common mistake is over-dilution: too much ice, too much soda, or waiting too long to drink it. The second most common mistake is expecting complexity that was never promised. This drink does exactly one thing—marks the beginning of leisure with minimal alcohol interference—and does it reliably well.