Spritz
The Spritz originates from northern Italy, in particular the area around Venice and the Veneto region. Here, it's pronounced ‘Spriss’. It originated around the end of the 19 century, when Venice still belonged to the Austrian Empire. The Austrian soldiers spent time in taverns and drank the local wines. Since they were more used to drinking beers than wines, they often diluted the wines with water to achieve a similar alcohol content. Soon, the Spritzer was born, a combination of white wine and soda water in equal parts.
In Veneto, the Spritz Al Bitter uses traditional white wines of the region, Pinot Grigio, Soave or the Prosecco. One can also use a Campari, the driest of the options. One could also use bitter liqueurs like the Aperol, Gran Classico, Select or Cynar. Depending on the liqueur used, the drink can be garnished with an orange slice or an olive. According to Gruppo Campari’s stats, in Veneto alone, 300,000 Spritze are consumed every day. That's upward of 22 Spritzes a minute.
The global spread of the spritz can partly be attributed to the 2000 American film Meet the Parents, which stars Robert De Niro, Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman. In one scene, instead of offering de Niro his usual Tom Collins, Streisand gives him an Italian Spritz.
In Venice, when describing the recipe of the Spritz, most bartenders use words like “splash” instead of giving specific measurements. Then finally in the 2010s, Davide Campari, owner of Campari, Aperol, Cynar and other popular liqueurs, offered proportions of 3:2:1, with 3 parts of Prosecco to 2 parts of Aperol and one part of spritz or soda water. They encouraged serving this on ice in a goblet shaped glass.
While this makes for an interesting drink, traditionally, it's served in a tumbler shaped glass which is filled with ice. The base is a local white wine, on which goes the Campari or Aperol, and finally it's finished off with a spritz of prosecco.
Basically, by using different liqueurs and combining it with different mixers, one can create a variety of new drinks. Here are a few popular variations:
Aperol Spritz
Slightly sweet, refreshing, energising
Uses orange bitter liqueur, prosecco, sparkling wine and soda water
Apple Spritz
Sweet, fruity, bubbly
Uses apple schnapps liqueur, peach schnapps and champagne
Bellini Spritz
A chilled Bellini with a refreshing twist
Uses prosecco sparkling wine, peach puree, lemon juice, peach schnapps, soda water
Biscotti Spritz
Strong hazelnut and butterscotch overtones. Better when paired with a biscotti.
Uses prosecco sparkling wine, hazelnut liqueur, butterscotch liqueur, soda water
Brits Spritz
Deep elderflower flavour and British character
Uses prosecco sparkling wine, ginseng aperitif, elderflower liqueur, soda water
Ingredients
Method
-Build all the ingredients into a wine glass filled with ice.
-Stir gently.
-Garnish with a slice of orange.
