Aperol Spritz Cocktail Recipe

June 3, 2016

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This Aperol Spritz cocktail recipe is long overdue on Umami Girl. I can tell that’s true from how much Aperol is gone from this bottle. I’ve loved this light and refreshing aperitif for years. Like Aperol itself, it originates in Italy and is one of those classic recipes that transports you to an early evening in summer, sitting at a cafe table in a piazza, feeling the slightest bit tipsy and watching beautiful people go by.

The Aperol Spritz combines a few of my favorite things: Prosecco (or other sparkling wine — I tend to use our evergreen favorite Chandon Brut Classic from California); slightly fruity, gently bitter Aperol, made from oranges, rhubarb, herbs and some top-secret ingredients; and — I’ll just put it out there — alcohol. Aperol has been around since the 1920s, and the Spritz has been in regular rotation since at least the 1940s. While we were living in London, it experienced a moment of trendiness, which made me very happy. Still, I discovered last year that one of our local liquor stores does not even carry Aperol, and not all bartenders know how to make a Spritz. I try to remain calm when these things happen, but it’s not easy. Plus, I can’t figure out whether these people are too old or too young to know what I’m talking about. Pitfalls of early middle age. Every interaction could lead to your next existential crisis.

Good thing for cocktails.

I’m not a huge day drinker unless we’re talking coffee or water from my swell new S’well (though I make exceptions, don’t worry). Sometimes I think it’s because I’m a busy, functioning adult, but sometimes I think it’s because crappy beer is too crappy and Pimm’s Cups are too sweet. The Aperol Spritz is juuuuuust right, though, and drinkable practically all day long, so maybe I’ll reconsider.

Or, you know, maybe not, since it’s already after five on a Friday.

Enjoy the weekend. Talk to you soon.

Carolyn xx