If you aren’t already drinking spritzes this summer, today is a good day to give the drink a try — It’s National Spritz Day!
If you’re not familiar, a spritz is a wine-based cocktail with roots in Italy. There are a few variations, but all of them have a similar result: a relatively low alcohol sparkling cocktail, perfect for drinking on the porch or by the pool on a hot summer day.
It got its start in the Veneto region as a way to make wines as a way to make its wines which were quite strong more palatable to non-locals, specifically members of the Habsburg Empire that were drinking it. Then, it was most often just wine and soda water, but now a lot fancier versions of the classic drink are out there.
The Aperol Spritz is perhaps the most common version of the drink. To make one of your own, fill a wine glass with ice and add equal parts prosecco and Aperol. Add a splash of soda water and garnish with an orange peel and you’re done. The whole process is super easy and takes just a few seconds, and even better, can be adjusted based on your personal palette.
This summer in particular I’ve been a bit fan of making spritzes using Lillet. Early on in the pandemic I did a one-on-one cocktail class with Lillet brand leader Jennifer Gerrie who walked me thorough making a few different spritzes with the fortified wine. They’re all delicious, and even if you’ve never made a single cocktail before they’re something you can probably pull off.
If you’re new to the spritz space, then the Lillet Spritz is a good place to start. It’s just Lillet and tonic water, so it’s going to be hard to screw up. Add in some fresh fruit (I went with strawberries) and you’ll have a full-on cocktail on your hands that’s delicious while you’re on your own and will impress your friends once we’re, you know, mixing cocktails from friends again.
Lillet Spritz
3 parts Lillet Blanc/Rosé
3 parts tonic Water
Build over 3 large ice cubes in a tall wine glass and garnish with cucumber, mint and strawberry.
The L”Orange is my favorite of the bunch. It too is simple, but the addition of the blood orange soda was really great and made this the one of the three that I kept making more of.
Lillet L’Orange Spritz
3 Parts Lillet Blanc
1.5 Parts Blood Orange Italian Soda
2 Parts Mumm Napa®Brut
Build in glass over ice, top with sparkling wine and garnish with orange twist.
And if you really want to impress your friends, the Gin & Jam spritz is a fun one to try, although it involves quite a few more ingredients. The jam can be any one you like, so there’s an opportunity to do some fun spins on this. Since everything you’re adding for the most part is alcohol, this one also has a higher ABV than most other spritzes.
Gin & Jam Spritz
2oz Lillet Rosé
1 oz Gin
2oz Rosé Champagne
1 tablespoon of mixed red berry jam (any jam will work here)
1/2oz fresh Lemon Juice
Combine Lillet, gin, jam and lemon juice over ice in cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously and strain over ice into wine glass. Top with Champagne.
There are literally hundreds of spins you can put on the traditional spritz recipe to make it your own, all you need is a bottle of bubbles and a little imagination.
