Capture the taste of summer with these refreshing Spritz cocktails
While the weather still refuses to fully collaborate these days, we are finally looking at warmer and sunnier days ahead.
And here in Europe, May is also the month of repeated bank holidays.
In other words, it’s the perfect time to prepare a refreshing aperitivo to be enjoyed on the terrace before dinner. While this could be just a glass of sparkling wine, a gin tonic, or something classic like a martini, gimlet, negroni, or margarita, when the temperatures are starting to rise there is nothing better than a delicious spritz cocktail.
What is a Spritz cocktail
Like so many delicious things, the spritz cocktail origins in Italy. More precisely, the first spritz as we know it today was created in Venice in the early 1920s.
That said, the idea of a spritz cocktail goes back even further. More precisely, it is believed to have originated in the 1800s when Austrian and German soldiers in Italy started to mix the local wines with water to make them less heavy.
Spritz cocktails are wine-based cocktails prepared with wine (usually prosecco), bitter liqueur, and soda water. While there is no strict rule what type of wine and bitter is used – you could easily substitute prosecco or sparkling wine for a dry white or rosé, and lime juice instead of a classic bitter – if you want to create a true spritz cocktail it requires these three ingredients as a minimum.
Spritz cocktails are not just delicious and refreshing. They are perfect if you are looking for a drink with moderate alcohol content.
Chances are you are familiar with the most famous spritz cocktail, the popular Aperol Spritz. Closely followed in popularity by the Hugo. Nevertheless, as said before, any combination of the three base ingredients plus adding additional means, only the sky is the limit.
So, mix yourself a delicious spritz cocktails and start dreaming of your next Italian vacation.
5 delicious spritz cocktails to toast the summer
Just like the classic Aperol Spritz, any spritz cocktail is quick and easy to make. You won’t even need a cocktail shaker. Just fill a glass with plenty of ice and add the ingredients of your choice.
If you wonder where to start, try one of my favourite spritz cocktails below.
All instructions yield one glass.
Strawberry Spritz
If like me and you are team strawberry, you can’t miss out on the strawberry spritz. Especially as this version uses fresh strawberries.
3 fresh strawberries, halved
1 teaspoon sugar
3-4 mint leaves
juice from ½ lime
30 ml gin
90 ml prosecco
Muddle the strawberries with sugar and mint leaves until the strawberries are very smooth. Pour into a wine glass filled with ice, add gin, and top up with prosecco. Garnish with a fresh strawberry.
Rhubarb Spritz
Rhubarb is another vegetable I am obsessed with and when in season, I will use it anywhere from salads to cakes, desserts and even risotto.
This spritz cocktail asks for a homemade rhubarb syrup thus you need a bit more time for the preparation. Yet it’s worth the time as the slightly bitter notes of the syrup are the perfect substitute for a bitter liqueur, adding a particular fruity note to the drink.
1 large rhubarb stick, trimmed and cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
90 ml prosecco
Soda water
To prepare the rhubarb syrup, add rhubarb, sugar, and lemon juice to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-6 minutes until the rhubarb is soft.
Transfer the rhubarb to a sieve lined with a cotton cloth over a bowl. Let drain for two hours without pressing the rhubarb (this will result in the syrup turning cloudy). Chill for one hour or until needed.
Add few ice cubes to a champagne flute. Pour 40 ml rhubarb syrup over the ice, then top up with the prosecco and a splash of soda water.
St. Germain (Elderflower) Spritz
Inspired by the popular Hugo, this version uses elderflower liqueur to give the drink a perfect balance of sweet and zesty.
25 ml St. Germain elderflower liqueur
20 ml dry gin
20 ml lime juice
80 ml prosecco
soda water
3-4 lime slices
mint leaves
Fill a highball glass with plenty of ice and lime slices. Add elderflower liqueur, gin, lime juice and prosecco. Top up with a splash of soda water. Garnish with mint leaves.
Grapefruit Spritz
I’ve been itching to finally open the bottle Whitley Neill pink grapefruit gin sitting in my homebar for a while. I truly love the brand for the variety of innovative flavoured gins. And the bottles in all their different colours make a great show on my little home bar too.
25 ml pink grapefruit gin
20 ml Campari
80 ml prosecco
50 ml pink grapefruit tonic water
grapefruit slice
Pour all ingredients in a glass over ice. Garnish with a grapefruit slice.
Lillet Blanc Spritz
The French are another nation that know how to make a great drink, and Lillet is the perfect example. Created in 1872 in the Bordeaux region in France, it is made from a base of Bordeaux wine along with macerated liqueurs and aged in French oak.
The floral and aromatic Lillet blanc bursts with flavours of honey, orange blossoms, passionfruit, white floral and herbal notes and makes for the perfect bitter-substitute in a spritz cocktail.
Though not necessarily required, I’ve added fresh strawberries for an extra fruity twist.
50 ml Lillet Blanc
120 ml prosecco
soda water
2-3 strawberries
mint leaves
In a glass, lightly muddle the strawberries. Add ice and pour prosecco and soda water. Garnish with mint leaves.
Looking for more ideas of a refreshing spritz cocktail? Check out my post Awesome variations of the classic Aperol Spritz.
Carrots and Tigers 