POSTCARDS & PROSECCO

VENEZIA, ITALY

EDITION 07   JUNE 2023

Cocktail history is rich with legend and lore. Stories best savored and shared alongside the tales of Margaritas, Martinis, and Bellinis. Italy’s effervescent charmer, the sparkling Spritz of Venezia has her story to tell. As any good devotee, I set off to do a little field research and find the story behind the spritz.

BEFORE SHE WAS FAMOUS

You’ll find Italy’s effervescent darling, the Aperol Spritz, reigning supremely throughout the peninsula. Basking in her burnt orange moment in the sun, this shimmering delight graces the hands of locals and tourists alike, delivering a sweet refreshing taste of summer solace.

Yet, it wasn’t always this way. Worlds apart from her glamorous sister of today, the original spritz was more local then legendary and rather simple and stout.

Like many legends, there are several conflicting stories surrounding the origin of the spritz– varying in detail from place to place. However, one fact remains the same, the spritz her origins are in Northern Italy (Town & Country, 2019)

Exactly how this glistening goblet arrived at the dance is a subject of great debate. Some will tell you the spritz was created in a frugal attempt to stretch the wine, adding water to make the wine last longer. Others will tout the health benefits of the lighter digestive aperitivo. Designed as a pre-dinner drink, deliberately light on the alcohol, the spritz serves up a series of refreshing herbal ingredients. The combination of wine, soda water, and liquor carefully fashioned together with the help of medicinal herbs stimulate’s your appetite while making the drink your perfect precursor to dinner. Others will tell you another story (and my personal favorite) suggesting that not everyone, especially the Austrian occupiers of Venice, could handle the strength of Veneto white wines. So much so, that a dash of soda water was added, deliberately diluting the full bodied regional wine. An action deemed so offensive to the locals, liqueur was added to soften the insulting blow, and created something new in the process. While you will hear many stories of the spritz, however it came to be, Northern Italians have been mixing soda water, local white wines or prosecco, and a splash of regional liqueur for generations.

BITTERSWEET AND BUBBLY

BITTERSWEET & BUBBLY

That splash of something extra comes from a variety of bittersweet liqueurs. Designed to stimulate the appetite, while offering a range of alimentary herbs, aperitivos as the Italians know them, offer a light refreshing pre-dinner drink. The herbs used in the liqueurs help with digestion. Exactly one drink is designed to be enjoyed before your meal.

While the spritz remains prominent in Northern Italy, the liqueur used in a regional spritz varies from city to city. While much of the world knows the sweetest of the bunch, Aperol, she is only one of a stylish set of sisters in the bittersweet liquor family. The four most commonly served spritzs’ in Italy include Campari, Aperol, Cynan, and Select. It seems only right that you discover for youself what is your favorite.

Campari, Aperol’s older sister, packs a powerful punch. With a heavier alcohol content at 24% percent, it’s the strongest in the bunch. You’ll also find Campari in a variety of cocktails like the Negroni or one of my favorites the Americano. When in Italy, ordering either one of these cocktails will be sure to win the approval of your bartender.

None the less, when thirsty patrons throughout much of Italy, ask for a spritz, most of them are looking for an Aperol spritz. The sweetest of the bunch and easily recognizable by her bright orange hue, the Aperol Spritz offers a lighter alcohol content and the sweetest option among the bittersweet liquors.

ICE-ICE BABY

Maybe the reason the Spritz, remains the summertime beverage of choice, is because of a decidedly simple, yet brilliant addition that should engender the gratitude of hot and thirsty spritz drinkers around the globe. Ice! The Spritz is one of the very few drinks in Italy that will be served with a generous scoop of ice.

Sales of this sunny cocktail skyrocketed, making Aperol one of the best-selling spirits in all of Italy. According to the Campari , in the Veneto region alone, nearly 300,000 Aperol Spritzes are consumed every day!

So the next time you raise your orange-glow goblet, do so in the direction of Northern Italy, towards Venice, give those ice cubes a swish, and thank the dashing Venetians for this bright, brisk, beverage that pairs so well with la dolce vita.