How the Aperol spritz was invented
‘Spritz o’clock’, when Italians stream out of work and into bars for a sociable pre-dinner aperitivo - traditionally a bitter-sweet herb-based drink plus a salty snack - is one of the country’s most relaxing, life-affirming rituals.
They’ve been doing it since 1786 in the northern city of Turin. The innovator was herbalist and winemaker Antonio Benedetto Carpano, who juggled aromatic botanicals and fortified wine in his laboratory to find a pre-dinner digestive aid. The result was Vermouth. He gifted a sample of his creation to the local Royal
Aperitivi in Lucca. Photo: A Trip Up My Sleeve. Home page photo: Ralph Steinberger, Wikimedia Commons
Family and won a regular order from the palace. Before long, the fashionistas of Northern Italy had a new evening routine.
Meanwhile, German soldiers stationed in Northern Italy (since this was the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) were finding Italian wines too strong for their tastes. They began to dilute them with a spritz - which is German for a splash - of water. The trend caught on among Italians in the cities of Venice and Padua, who began to drink ‘spritzes’ too.
Over the following century, more herb-based aperitivos were created, with Campari becoming Italy’s established favourite. Then in 1912, the Barbieri brothers, liqueur makers from Padua, set out to invent a new drink for the Padua International Fair. That drink was Aperol. Its name was inspired by the French term apéro, a shortening of apéritif, and it tasted sweeter and lighter than Campari.
Aperol’s recipe was and still is a secret, but its aroma of bitter oranges and vanilla is unmistakeable and Chinese rhubarb and gentian are in the mix of more than a dozen ingredients, too. Many of its herbs and roots come from the Piedmont region. Perhaps its winning characteristic was a comparatively low alcohol content of 11 per cent, so that it could be drunk more freely, plus of course its vibrant crimson-y mandarin colour which was quickly dubbed ‘sunset in a glass’.
From the 1920s onwards, Aperol and other bitter drinks including Venice’s new favourite Select and artichoke-based Cynar became firmly established across Italy. They were served on ice or in recipes that drew on American cocktail culture, with different variations beginning to establish from town to town.
In the 1950s, the spritz boomed, and with it so did Aperol. It beat all competition to be considered Italy’s most refreshing aperitivo, successfully establishing itself as a fun part of living la dolce vita during the so-called Italian Miracle, a time of economic growth after World War II.
In the 1990s, Prosecco became a fashionable addition to the spritz, replacing other wines because of its feel-good, Champagne-like image. Aperol again made the most of this, making its glasses bigger and creating a longer, bubblier drink.
In a twist, Aperol was bought by the Campari company who advertised it around the world and established it as the quintessential pre-dinner drink, making it a colourful essential in a social media-driven age. Enjoy ‘spritz life’ said the advertising slogan - and young people in particular did.
These days, you’ll find it everywhere from Paris to Acapulco. In the US its king status was deemed worthy of a controversial ‘hit piece’ by the New York Times, who in 2019 declared it “not a good drink” (a Twitter storm ensued). And it was voted the UK’s favourite branded cocktail in 2021. Italians, however, remain its most ardent fans.
The key to an Aperol spritz is excellent ingredients simply combined. The simplest formula and arguably the best is 321: three parts Prosecco, two parts Aperol and a splash of chilled soda. Pour over ice and garnish with an orange slice.
Is this precisely what you’ll get in Italy? Not at all. Every bartender in every town and city is likely to have their own nuanced variation, which is part of the fun. But one element is always consistent: the sunset glow it lends to any beautiful view, from Renaissance square to ancient olive grove. Saluti!