Aperol, Prosecco, soda water 3:2:1 over ice with an orange slice. Italy's default summer aperitivo.
Aperol launched in Padua in 1919 by the Barbieri brothers. The spritz format is older — Austrian soldiers in the Veneto under Habsburg rule splashed local wine with water from the 1800s. The 3:2:1 modern recipe and Aperol pairing took hold in 1950s Veneto.
Aperol is 11% ABV — half the strength of Campari. Campari Group bought Aperol in 2003 and pushed the spritz globally; sales tripled within a decade and it's now the #1 cocktail in Italy by volume.
Bright orange in a stemmed wine glass, ice to the rim, orange wheel hanging on the side. Lightly bitter, fizzy, 11% ABV-ish, low-alcohol by Italian aperitivo standards. Sweet first, gentian-rhubarb finish.
Ratio order matters — Prosecco first, then Aperol, then soda last to keep the bubbles. Big ice slows dilution; small ice waters the drink down before it's drunk. Always built in the glass, never shaken.
Variations
Hugo (Alto Adige, 2005, by bartender Roland Gruber) uses elderflower syrup instead of Aperol, with mint. Select Spritz uses the Venetian Select bitter — darker, more bitter, the local Venice preference over Aperol.
On the Palate
Where Aperol Spritz sits in the Italian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 1How it's made
4 steps · 4 min
- 11 min
Fill large wine glass with ice cubes.
Watch outFill the glass with big ice cubes, not crushed — large cubes chill without watering the drink down before you finish it.
- 21 min
Pour 90 mL Prosecco + 60 mL Aperol over ice.
- 31 min
Top with 30 mL soda water; stir once gently.
Watch outAdd the soda last and give one gentle stir — pour it in early or stir hard and you knock the fizz out of the Prosecco.
- 41 min
Garnish with an orange slice and a green olive on a pick.
