Spritzes, a hot but old drink
If you make it to Italy this year, be sure to take a look around for the Aperol Spritz. It will certainly be easy to find.
The Aperol Spritz is a phenomenon like no other. Drinks come and go.
Some like the Cosmopolitan bask in popularity for years and others are perennial like the Martini. But we have never seen anything reach the popularity of the Aperol Spritz. Never. It is on almost every single table in Italy, everywhere. And it has spread out from there.
Created in 1919 by brothers Luigi and Silvio Barbieri in Padua (just outside Venice, Italy), Aperol's softer, sweeter taste (and pinkish-orange color) was a regional challenge to the powerhouse of Piedmont's bitter carmine-colored Campari. Aperol is half the strength of Campari and derives its flavor primarily from gentian, cinchona and rhubarb. Originally it was quite popular, but post-World War II, its popularity began to fade. So much so that Gruppo Campari purchased the brand in 2003. And then, along came the Aperol Spritz.
The Spritz is also not a new drink. It originated in Venice in the 1800s when the Habsburgs of Austria ruled the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. Venice's last Habsburg ruler was Franz Joseph I, the third-longest ruling monarch in European history. He was the brother of the Mexican Emperor Maximilian I, (for which the Battle of Puebla was fought, giving us Americans the pan-Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo) as well as the uncle of Austria-Hungarian Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination started World War I.
Spritz comes from the German “spritzen,” or “sparkling,” and originally meant mixing the local wine with sparkling water. A summer or an early fall in Italy and you will quickly realize why, unlike most of Europe, they like ice in their drinks. Mediterranean not only refers to a region but also is a climate that features hot humidity, so iced drinks are a necessity. In fact, the classic Americano cocktail, the precursor to the Negroni, was essentially a Vermouth Spritz with Campari added. The modern Spritz simply adds the ubiquitous Italian sparkling wine — prosecco — to the mix. Somewhat ironically, the Campari Spritz is also seeing a surge in popularity, riding the coattails of its former bitter rival.
Today, Aperol outsells Campari nearly two to one, combining for a whopping 140 million liters sold in 2022 — 79.2 million liters of Aperol, 40.5 million liters of Campari — according to Statista. And they are expecting sales to increase by 20% in 2023. Phenomenon is almost an understatement.
Other liquor companies have certainly noticed and are now getting in on the act. Other Spritzes are now appearing on the market using a basic ratio of