Aperol Spritz, THE Drink of Summer

You may have noticed the last few summers have been all about the Aperol Spritz.  Although it is very popular in Italy (especially the Veneto region) and some other European countries, we really hadn’t noticed the popularity hitting here until recently.

We had an accidental tasting at the beginning of this summer at one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Los Angeles, Cecconi’s. Alatheia ordered a Sprite and a drink showed up with a tinge of orange color and an orange wedge. She tasted it and realized it wasn’t a Sprite with an orange. The waiter thought she said “Spritz”…after looking around, we noticed many of the tables had the Aperol Spritz at their table.

That got our curiosity going as we wouldn’t normally order this type of drink. We had to have a taste And once we did, we understood what the fuss was about. It not only looks chic, but it tastes good and is refreshing!

The Aperol Spritz is a pre-dinner aperitivo that has a lower alcohol content (11%) and is meant to stimulate the appetite! Aperol is an orange-red liquer invented in 1919 in Italy by the Barbieri Brothers with the flavors of bitter and sweet oranges, rhubarb and genetian root. It is sweeter than it’s sister liquer Campari, so for that reason we believe it has become more popular. The Aperol Spritz is a great aperitivo for the warm summer months!

Here is the very easy tried and true recipe.

Enjoy!

3 parts chilled Prosecco – We used La Marca which is found at most markets.

2 parts Aperol

1 part soda water – We used San Pellegrino.

Cubed ice

Garnish with a sliced orange and optional thyme sprig or olive, and festive straw.