Bellini
100 ml Sparkling wine, 50 ml Peach purée, 1 slice Peach
Aperol Spritz
Bitter orange and bubbles - the sound of an evening starting.
Refreshing
Easy
3 min
Photo: Aperol Spritz - July 2024 - Sarah Stierch · All credits
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 6 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 540 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 540 ml line. Sparkling wine - Prosecco
- 360 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 360 ml line. Aperol
- 180 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 180 ml line. Soda water
- 6 slices Orange slice
- 6 large cubes Ice
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Fill the glass with ice and add the prosecco.
- Add Aperol, then a splash of soda, and stir once.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 1.08 l of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Fill a large wine glass to the top with ice - any less and it will go warm.
- Pour in the prosecco first, then the Aperol.
- Add the splash of soda water and stir once, briefly.
- Add the orange slice and serve immediately.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Aperol Spritz
Three parts prosecco, two parts Aperol, one part soda: the formula the Veneto has been mixing since the 1950s, and the reason an entire region stops what it is doing at six o'clock. It is barely a recipe, and it is the best thing to drink before dinner - bitter enough to wake an appetite, gentle enough to have a second one while you decide what to cook.
Getting it right
Big glass, plenty of ice, and pour in the order the drink wants: prosecco first, then the Aperol, then a short splash of soda. The lighter things go in last so the bubbles survive the trip, and if you stir it, stir once - you are mixing it, not beating it. An inexpensive prosecco is perfect here, because the Aperol is doing the talking. Have something salty within reach.
Tasting notes
Soft orange and rhubarb bitterness riding on crisp bubbles, with a sweet, faintly herbal finish that keeps bringing you back. The most forgiving drink in the book, and the one most likely to turn a Tuesday evening into an occasion.
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