Aperol – this is a Spritz

We’re rather obsessed with summer at TWE at the moment. English memories are short, and each year the warm summer surprises us, with gasps all around as we realise that for a few weeks we won’t need jumpers and umbrellas. So, during this brief respite from our usual, more active weather, we’re jumping on the long-drink bandwagon, and trying as many summery beverages as we can. Today’s candidate for examination: Aperol.

When it comes to brightly coloured Italian bitters, Campari has had the market sewn up for years. However, all is not as it once was in bittersland, with relative newcomer Aperol now appearing on a surprising number of shelves, from bars to drinks shops, and taking the summer drink market by storm.

Lower in strength and less bitter than Campari, Aperol is the ideal substitute for the more modern palate – in general we like sweeter things than we used to. The traditional serve for Aperol is in one of our favourite summery drinks, the Spritz.

It’s a simple drink, combining wine, bitters and soda to make something that sits between a Campari soda and wine spritzer, pulling out some of the best elements of both. Here’s Aperol’s canonical recipe:

The Aperol Spritz

• 75ml Prosecco
• 50ml Aperol
• 25ml soda water

As they say in the video: fill a large wine glass with ice, pour in the prosecco and Aperol, blast with a quick squirt of soda water and garnish with a slice of orange.

Some people swap out the Prosecco for still wine and others mess around with the proportions. It’s worth playing around with to get something that fits your taste perfectly – in Italy, every bar has its own recipe.

Aperol is definitely worth a whirl and a Spritz is a great place to start. From there, you can drop it in as a replacement for Campari in loads of classic cocktails when you want a little less bitterness. And don’t worry about doing Campari out of any business, as these days they also make Aperol…

You can find Aperol over on our website – at the time of writing, it comes with a big wine glass, just the right size for making a Spritz.