Quick Sip: A Simpler Spritz
A quick drink to make when you depleted your prosecco before your Aperol
I love a spritz. This is not a post about not liking spritzes, which feel more and more popular the longer the drink remains king of the summer. A spritz is, easily, on the Mount Rushmore of summer patio drinks.
It is also, for my money, a much better drink to order out than make at home.
The classic recipe makes a great drink. I could spend a month writing about the 3-2-1 ratio in cocktails and why it works. But the challenge with doing that at home is that you’re opening a bottle of bubbles that you’ll deplete before your bitter even if you use every ounce for spritzes. And you probably can’t drink that many spritzes at home. So, you’ll either be drinking prosecco straight or waiting too long and realizing it’s gone flat. I hope you choose the former.
Regardless, let’s say you’ve found yourself with some Aperol and no prosecco to join it but still have a hankering for a spritz (or you’ve also run out of salty lemonade). Luckily, a few small tweaks can still scratch the spritz itch if you’re out of bubbly.
The Soda
When most of the bubbles are from prosecco, you don’t need to think much about the soda. But without the prosecco to lean on, you should use a soda with as many bubbles and as much gas as possible. That’s because we perceive bubbles as sour, even though they’re not, and that will help mask the absence of prosecco.
My preferred way to do this is by overclocking the heck out of a SodaStream, but if that’s not an option I would recommend going with Topo Chico or San Pellegrino.
The Bitter
To punch up the drink a bit, add a few dashes of whatever bitters you have around to the drink. I use Ango and orange. They’ll help give a bit more backbone to the simpler cocktail.
You’ll also be using more Aperol here than the classic, so extra bitter will help combat the extra sugar.
The Garnish
Another swap to help with the absence of the prosecco profile is to use a lemon wedge instead of an orange slice. There will be a bit of sourness that comes through here too and it will help brighten the bitter drink.
The Simplified Recipe
Just like the OG, you just fill a wine glass with ice and build the drink live with a quick stir at the end. Enjoy!
4 oz soda
3 oz Aperol
3 dash cocktail bitters
Lemon wedge