With apologies to "When Harry met Sally", we could not help notice the bright orange, refreshing-looking drinks many other people were having about 3 days into our 3-week Italy trip. So, we asked our waiter for "Two of the same orange drinks like the nearby table".
Wow, what a perfect afternoon drink! Thank you Italy for inventing the Aperol Spritz! Perfect for quaffing on a warm or hot afternoon while people watching in the piazza.
I had the same experience in Padua and have enjoyed them since. I’m not much of a drinker by a long shot and have asked for a drink based on the beautiful colors of the beverages the other patrons are sipping. Have you had a Pimm’s Cup? Not heavy on alcohol but refreshing and tasty on a warm evening. Safe travels.
Negroni, originated in Florence, is also fantastic.
They are delicious. Here in New york City they are also everywhere due to a huge marketing push by Aperol in the last 5 years. France and Spain seemed to have had the marketing push as well as they were everywhere, including having the 3 ingredients next to each other in displays in grocery stores.
Stan discovered the limoncello spritz on our recent trip to Italy, and has switched his allegiance from Aperol.
Nicely done. I drink these all the time now. Easy to make a batch for small parties as well! Campari spritz is also common, more herbal/bitter flavor. Aperol is sweeter.
FYI - Aperol Spritz recipe from Guido our favorite restaurateur (in Germany of course).
3 parts cold Prosecco
2 Parts cold Aperol
1 Part cold Sparkling Water
Over a crushed 1/2 orange wedge and a "Hand-slapped" (crushed/twisted/slapped) sprig of mint
Over ice
Enjoy.
One can also make Limoncello very easily... which now substitutes for Christmas Cookies and Birthday presents for adults.
I SO love Aperol Spritz. Limoncello is a close 2nd.
I love these! I’ll make them at home now, but if I’m really lazy, aperol and seltzer/soda water over ice is an extremely easy, extremely low alcohol alternative. I actually prefer Campari for this but aperol works too.
Thanks for the suggestions regarding Pimm's Cup, Negroni and Limoncello. Will give them a try!
In Italy, we tried a Campari spritz, (slightly bitter for our taste) and cynar which was good.
Had an interesting TSA experience at DFW where we connected on our homeward bound flight from Rome. We, of course bought a bottle of Aperol from Rome duty-free and carried it onboard. We cleared immigration and customs at DFW and, to my surprise that put us outside the TSA security zone. So we had to go through DFW TSA with our bottle of Aperol, which I thought was a goner. But, this had happened before at DFW as the TSA folks shouted "Duty-free" and our bottle of Aperol was personally inspected, x-rayed and given back to us.
Also try a Spritz Hugo.
Mainly in the North of Italy as elderflower is grown there.
Elderflower liqueur or cordial, Prosecco, soda water...poured into a glass stuffed full of mint which is crushed a little, and some lime.
Even more refreshing than a Spritz Aperol!
Don't need to be in Italy for that. Aperol, Prosecco, and a slice of orange are widely available Stateside. It's my daily aperitivo when I get home from work, especially on a warm day.
Yes, I love the Hugo too! Especially in the mountains after a long day hiking!
Oh, my word. I love aperol spritz but a limoncello spritz? Or the northern Hugo? Sitting in 100° weather with a broken air conditioner, all these sound heavenly.
I too Discovered the Aperol Spritz while in Italy and was also delighted that our cocktails came with actual food! One time we got Pizza slices and another olives and little sandwiches with chips.
We now make these regularly at home and serve them at most Summer BBQ's. We recently discovered a Pre-Made Aperol Spritz at Costco, for $4.99 we got one bottle thinking it would be just okay in a pinch and OMG sooo good, we add the orange slice (Oranges from our trees) and Viola...Spritz every night!
Several domestic producers are making drinks similar to Campari/Aperol and are worth seeking out. I like that some use natural food coloring (made from an insect, yes, but preferable to artificial red in my book). This is a great one: (not sure about the source of their red!): https://www.donciccioefigli.com/ambrosia It is comparable to Aperol and on the sweet side.
Thanks for the reminder about the elderflower spritz--I've been meaning to try that one! And I have not had a Pimm's Cup in too many years--I like to make it with ginger ale, cucumber spears, and citrus.
Fennel fans, look for finocchietto too.
I love Aperol Spritz’s.
Same experience learning about an Aperol Sritz - one of whateve they are having. Landed in Venice Airport in the middle of a late winter snowstorm. Noticed that just about everyone in the Courtyard Venice Airport Hotel's resturant/bar was drinking a reddish colored drink and ordered one myself. It's even better on a summer day.
One advantage of an Aperol Spritz on a hot day, is that it is one of the few drinks that come with more than two ice cubes (unless they are large).
Took me a couple years to get my wife to try one, now it is her "cocktail" of choice in the Summer.
Big conflicts.
Montague vs Capulet in fair Verona
Portia vs Shylock on the Rialto
Richard III vs well, everyone I suppose
Aperol vs Campari all over Italy, esp the Veneto.
I prefer Campari, my wife Aperol.
Our marriage has pulled through, just, thanks to finding common ground in the Negroni cocktail.
My first Aperol Spritz experience was interestingly enough on a bus tour in Poland! But yes, it is such a refreshing drink and although I haven't been to Italy yet, it is a regular drink on my trips to Europe.
Nothing like a great Aperol Spritz with a view of the Grand Canal! That said, the BEST Aperol Spritz
was in Budapest! Who knew?
A favorite "meal" on a sunny March evening in Venice: sitting on the hotel's patio along the Grand Canal with tramezzini and bottled Aperol Spritzes from the local Coop grocery store. (Yes, we drank them straight from the bottles!)
This has been a great and timely thread; I'm leaving for a one month trip to Italy on July 4th! Now I have all my drink planning done!!!
I learned about them much the same way, from American college students in Bologna. During the Covid lockdowns, I drank them often. I can't get prosecco here, but Spanish cava is just as good. If I were in California, it's be Korbel. Ever since I started making them, the recipe has been on the bottle label. It used to be 3-2 and a spritz of soda. The last bottle I bought says equal parts prosecco and aperol. I also prefer it 2-2 to 3-2.
They are now popular in much of Europe, I've had them in Spain and France and Israel. Chicago too. Though in an Italian restaurant there I had to tell the bartender how to make it LOL.
We drank a lot of Aperol Spritzes during our 3 week Italy trip. I just made some at home this past week - it made packing and cleaning for an apartment move way better, lol.
We also had Campari Spritzes, but I am team Aperol.
We make the Spritz Hugo with St. Germain elderflower liqueur...you can get it in the liquor stores here in Canada.
Summer seems to have finally arrived here, after having no spring weather, just rain, wind, cold, dark...so this evening will be the first Spritz Aperol outside in the garden!
We made them once in the dead of winter...didn't taste the same at all without some added sunshine and heat!
I agree: drinking them alongside a canal in Venice is the best way though!
YES! to those drinks mentioned above:
Aperol Spritz: sitting in bar at Milan’s Hotel Berna on our first visit to Italy in 2017, bartender suggested Aperol Spritz. I was hooked for the next few weeks. I love that it came with food: peanuts and potato chips.
Hugo: Same trip, in Bolzano. 2nd favorite.
Limoncello spritz: Only had it in Zurich. Should have known it was common in Italy.
Thanks Jane. I’ll have to ask for it on our next trip to Italy. So refreshing on a hot day. I think of the 3 that is my favorite.
Of course we’ve made those drinks at home, but somehow, it’s not the same.
…and Aperol from Costco? Probably not sole in Oregon. We are headed to Washington state next month, so will look for it there.
I love this Forum. I learn so many important facts!!!😊😊
We did the same thing in 2017 in Varenna.... we spotted those lovely orange drinks and we've been hooked every since!
They look good especially on a hot day with all the ice, but an Aperol Spritz tastes like orange flavored baby aspirin from the 70's.
I had one in Palermo and am not a fan. I found it to be quite bitter/medicinal. Chacun a son gout as someone said.
We discovered them on Capri October 2019 the same way: we’ll have one of those and found the prices varied considerably. No surprise, Capri was most expensive. The cheapest was in the cafe attached to our room / suite in Bomerano at the start of the Walk of the Gods. One per day was enough, sitting in the sun, just relaxing, watching the local people and tourists and enjoying life.
They definitely seem to be an acquired taste that says Italy to me and a bottle of Aperol sits in our liquor cabinet only brought out for guests.
Heading to Italy in a few months and this is crucial information! I have to admit though, Aperol Spritzes sound like IrnBru from Scotland. I'm thinking the Limoncello might be the way to go for me! ;)
I am a long-time fan of Aperol Spritzes. We were in Italy last month and were informed that in Venice one must drink a Venetian Spritz which is made with Select liqueur. Select is less sweet than Aperol, but not as bitter as Campari. Delightful.
@c&c, I have heard of Select but never tried it.
It does sound milder. Has anyone tried Cynar in an Apertivo? I just read about it.
https://www.winemag.com/2021/07/09/cynar-cocktail-recipes-guide/
We spent two weeks all over, from Rome to Lake Como to Tuscany to the Amalfi Coast. Every place had spritzes, and the Hugo was my favorite for cooling off. It's like an Italian mojito.
Loved that every cafe also has a shelf of amari liquors, which they drink neat or on ice. It was fun to order them sometimes with my coffee, though if you do it before lunch they'll give you a puzzled look. What the hey, I'm on vacation!
