Summer Is Here! Time to Make an Aperol Spritz
Fizzy, light and refreshing, the classic Aperol Spritz is everything we want a summer drink to be. It’s low-alcohol enough to enjoy at brunch—without a side of regret—and it looks exactly the way we want a summer cocktail to look! A sun-like wheel of orange, buoyed on mounds of ice in a glowing, bubbling, just-boozy-enough quencher is what our Italy-themed afternoon cocktailing fantasies are all about. Picture-perfect and transporting, making an Aperol Spritz or two is the ideal way to conjure the glorious Italian tradition of aperitivo—light snacks and a low-ABV, slightly bitter cocktail to whet the appetite before a proper meal—wherever you may be!
The Perfect Aperol Spritz in Just Four Ingredients
Aperol is an Italian bitter that’s been around for more than a century now—since 1919, to be specific—but the American passion for the Aperol Spritz (and all spritz-y cocktails) is a relatively new phenomenon. While you can point to a million things that may have led to the sudden popularity of this sunny, sweet-bitter drink—the love that many of us have for all things Italian, a PR push on the part of the company that makes Aperol—all that matters is that we all now know and love this ideal warm-weather cocktail. Aperol Spritz deserves our adoration—simple ingredients yield a beautiful cocktail that pairs perfectly with salty snacks. Aperol Spritz hour is the happiest hour of all! And you only need 4 ingredients to make it! Here’s what’s in an Aperol Spritz:
Aperol. One bottle of Aperol will last a while! And you can make other things with it, too (though a Spritz is our favorite!).
Prosecco. If you’re only making one or two Aperol Spritz cocktails, look for the smaller bottles of Prosecco (or even the little cans!). Or, you can invest in a super great stopper—like this one—which will keep your bubbles fizzing for days in the fridge.
Soda water. We like to use seltzer with big, vigorous bubbles! The fizzier the better.
A big orange slice. Gotta have it. Some people like to garnish a spritz with a briny olive and an orange slice, and that sweet-salty combo can be awesome if you want to get a little fancy. But you must must must have an orange slice at the very least.
How to Make an Aperol Spritz
There’s a rumor going around that the perfect Aperol Spritz recipe uses a ratio of 3-2-1, meaning 3 ounces Prosecco, 2 ounces of Aperol and 1 ounce of club soda. The perfect Aperol Spritz ratio, though, will be the one that you like best! Call us biased, but we prefer a ratio of 3:3:2—hey, more is more!—and we say start with our recipe, and go from there. You can always add a little more soda water to make the drink even lighter in alcohol, or a little less Aperol if you want the drink to have less bittersweetness. You’ll find your perfect Aperol Spritz ratio—or you may find that a different day or circumstance demands a slightly different one—and one thing we know for sure? You’ll have a blast doing it. Here’s how to make our favorite Aperol Spritz recipe:
Select the perfect glass! White wine glasses are terrific for serving an Aperol Spritz, but if your wine glasses are super fancy or fragile, you might also consider using something sturdier, like a highball.
Fill that glass with ice. Lots and lots of ice!
Pour in the Aperol
Now the Prosecco.
Now the sparkling water!
Garnish and sip!
How Much Alcohol Is in an Aperol Spritz?
While an Aperol Spritz is definitely for the 21-and-over crowd only, it’s not an incredibly boozy drink. Aperol clocks in at just 11% ABV. If you’re unfamiliar, “ABV” just means “alcohol by volume” and for context, most wine is around 11% - 15 % ABV. The Aperol and Prosecco (which should be roughly about the same ABV as the Aperol) are the only boozy parts of the cocktail, and in our Aperol Spritz recipe we call for just 3 ounces of each, so about 6 ounces total of alcoholic drinks, both with a relatively low ABV. What really makes Spritz cocktails so light, refreshing and easy-going in the booze department, though, is the dilution! They have soda water and lots of ice, which means that as you drink, you’re also drinking water and cutting the booze. While sun and booze can be a brutal combo, hydration is always your friend! And the Aperol Spritz has that all-important summer drinking element built right in.
Tools You’ll Need
Seriously, that Champagne stopper is really handy. A Spritz life MUST.
More Summer Cocktail Recipes to Love!
Show Us Your Best Aperol Spritz!
Seriously—this is one gorgeous cocktail! Show us your beautiful spritz, and the beautiful people you’re sipping it with. We want to see you living your best life! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Cheers!
