Now Aperol is over, what will you be drinking this summer?
As Britons finally tire of the ubiquitous tangerinecoloured spritz, Jack Rear looks for other options
The Aperol spritz, a mix of Aperol, prosecco and soda, has been ubiquitous at every rooftop bar, smart pub and Italian restaurant for the last few summers – but has the bubble finally burst? Rebekah Peppler, the New York Times drinks writer, sparked controversy last week when she denounced the Aperol spritz as, bluntly, “not a good drink”.
After Nigella Lawson tweeted in support of Peppler, describing the drink as “Tizer-like”, others piled in, likening its flavour to “Berocca and vodka”, and dismissing it as “estate agent’s ale” and “a hangover biding its time”. So if Aperol’s tangerinecoloured star is starting to dim, what will take it place?
According to Siobhan Payne, festival director of Drinkup. london, summer cocktails usually follow a common “look” and taste: “Stemmed glassware, a bit of colour; it has to look good on Instagram and also in people’s hands in a bar,” she says.
Britons are broadening their minds, according to Federico Doldi, beverage director at The Curtain, a high-end rooftop bar in London. “Aperol is going to be around forever, but finally English people are starting to realise what aperitifs are,” he says.
“Four or five years ago, it wasn’t like that, but tastes have changed towards something lighter, more bubbly with a very low
ABV, which they can enjoy much more of, so there’s room for a challenger.”
In Doldi’s view, the drink that’s going to take off this summer is Martini Fiero, a new brand vermouth, launched in the UK in March, which is pitched at a younger demographic, boasts a similar Instagramfriendly colour to Aperol, and works well as a summer spritz. “The
Martini Fiero and tonic water is going to be the Aperol spritz of summer 2019,” Doldi predicts.
It certainly has potential. With a bold colour, a low ABV and a sparkling tonic pairing, Fiero has everything that made Aperol popular, with a slightly more flavoursome profile.
But it’s far from the only lighter choice. Aperitivo, the Italian tradition of a light alcoholic drink to stimulate the palate before a meal, is having a moment, with everything from sherry to cognac on summer drinks menus. “A range of vermouths, such as Regal Rogue and Belsazar, work brilliantly lengthened with a flavoured tonic,” says Craig Harper of Fever-tree. “Pairing botanicals in the vermouths, such as herbs or fruits, with a matching tonic really makes a drink sing.”
There’s also a surprising groundswell of support for soda water. “I think we’ll see a few more gin and soda serves this summer,” says Payne. “People have been drinking gin and tonic for a long time so they’re getting used to the taste of the gin and they’re now able to drink it without the sugar in the tonic.” Payne believes the “fancy garnish” trend and bulbous Copa de Balon glasses – the traditional Spanish serve long-favoured by high-end cocktail bars – will be all over the high street this summer, boosting drinks’ all-important “Instagrammability”.
She also thinks pink drinks will continue their domination, but that doesn’t necessarily just mean gin.
“I think we’ll probably see a lot more frosé [basically, a rosé wine slushie], too,” she says. “Last year we saw a lot of venues installing frosé machines, so I think people will be choosing that for an afternoon drink in the sunshine.”
We will also see a lot more alcoholfree cocktails this summer: Britain is consuming less alcohol every year as more of us opt for a healthier lifestyle. UK consumption dropped from
12.6 litres of pure alcohol a year per adult in 1990 to 11.4 litres in 2017.
However, most experts believe the Aperol spritz isn’t going to disappear quite yet. Lee Lynch, managing director of Red Door and Eden in Liverpool, suggests that bar staff will innovate around it. “It’s all about making small tweaks to established classics. For instance, we’ve introduced an Aperol and rosé spritz.”
If you’re still determined to put your Aperol days behind you, you could do worse than follow Nigella’s lead. “Why would anyone have a Tizer-like Aperol Spritz when you could have a Campari soda?” she asked, last week, of Aperol’s bolder, more bitter sister. We’ll have what she’s having.