amaro spritz.
A little bitter, a little sweet, a lot of bubble. This classic Italian apertif is the perfect happy hour sipper.
Serves: 1 Prep time: 3 minutes Cook Time: 0 minutes jump to recipe.
I love cocktails. I really do. But I hate making them.
It’s like the sandwich effect, I guess: Some things just taste better when someone else makes them for you.
Thus, I usually have a bottle of wine on hand for easy pours. Not too sweet, not too complicated. Just trusty wine and a glass.
Every so often, though, I do enjoy something different, and I like when it can be simple. Spritzes are the perfect thing for the days when you want a little more than just a glass of wine.
Maybe the Italians have similar cocktail sentiments as I do?
about amaro
Amaro is a bitter (some say herbal) liqueur made with herbs and spices. It is essentially an infused alcohol using spirits like grape brandy, almost always with a bittersweet flavor and herbal aftertaste. It’s not for everyone, and often takes some getting used to.
Amaro can take many forms, from Campari to Nonino. You’ve seen them used before, in cocktails like the Paper Plane, Aperol Spritz, or most famously, the Negroni.
Amaro doesn’t have to be mixed into cocktails, though, and can be drank on its own as a digestif. If you happen to find one you love, try it over ice after dinner.
Personally, I like amari in spritzes. An apertivo bar just opened near us and it’s such a treat — all the bittersweet Italian flavors you could ask for. Something about the bubbles and the bitter aftertaste brings you to a different place (That place is Italy, there’s no being elusive about it).
how to make it
Yes, a lazy cocktail!
Grab a stemmed white wine glass — the glass will sweat from the ice, so you’ll want something that has a stem for handling. Plus it’s fun.
Fill it with ice. Like to the brim. Not the usual “just a couple ice cubes” kind of fill.
Pour in an ounce or so of amaro. The more you use, the more bitter the spritz.
Cover with prosecco, cava, or sparkling rosé. I recommend going about halfway up the glass here, which should be around a half cup. Hence the white wine glass — the red ones require a lot of spritz.
Fill the rest of the glass with sparkling water or club soda. Club soda is customary, but I prefer sparkling water. Honestly, the difference is so minimal, just grab whatever’s in the fridge.
Garnish with an orange wheel. This just adds a little juiciness and sweetness, totally not required.
Serve with a straw so you can swirl the ice around (and mix the drink together).
amaro spritz ingredients
amaro: The amaro I’ve been using recently is pictured above: Pergoté Amaro D’erbe. After researching for awhile (read: redditing) I discovered that this amaro is made for/by Total Wine only to be sold in Total Wine. That is to say, likely, this amaro is some type of off-brand liqueur with a pretty label. Some people really hate it for this reason, but I don’t really see a reason to hate it. It tastes good and costs less than $15. Unless it’s like, sewer water, I don’t care what it really is. If it tasted terrible, I’d have different opinions.
In other words, find an amaro you like and use that. Unless your goal is to make an aperol spritz, use a dark, caramel-colored amaro with a sweet, rich flavor. I like to use Amaro Nonino sometimes.
sparkling wine: This is flexible. It’s traditional to use Prosecco in spritzes because the sweetness is a good balance to the bitter amaro used, but you can experiment with other sparkling wines. If you prefer dry flavors, use cava or sparkling rosé.
sparkling water: Sparkling water or club soda completes a spritz and offers a dryness that turns it into a much more mellow drink than, say, a French 75 or Kir Royale. Especially if you aren’t used to spritzes, the sparkling water might seem like something you can write off. Don’t — you’ll be missing a vital quality of the apertif. It should be light, effervescent, and should fill the glass. If you need more sugar, try Sprite instead (I actually found this makes the bitter flavor more pronounced, though).
Start with a splash and adjust to taste.
this cup basically needed 4 spritz’ worth to fill all the way. not a solid spritz glass, but so pretty.
amaro spritz pairing options
Technically amaro is a digestif, which means it’s enjoyed after dinner as a digestive aid. Often, though, cocktails containing amaro are drank before dinner as apertifs to cleanse the palette and initiate hunger. Interesting how one flavor can be used so differently, right?
You can have a spritz whenever, but you might find it more suitable for apertivo, paired with small snacks and finger foods like charcuterie. Here are some snacks I serve during my (party of 1) apertivo:
camembert and salami
manchego and chorizo
apples and hot honey
stuffed olives
hummus and pita crisps
candied pecans
gravlax and creme fraiche
a good bunch of grapes (sometimes simple is best)
