Spritz: Italy's Most Iconic Aperitivo Cocktail, with Recipes - Talia Baiocchi, Leslie Pariseau (2016)
SPRITZ COCKTAILS
Modern
Built with the same blueprint as the classics, modern spritzes embrace alternative spirits and liqueurs, more diverse garnishes, fresh juices, and the architecture of other classic drink families.
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS wine glass ✵ GARNISH lemon half-wheel and mint sprig
KEY INGREDIENTS: Rosé, Cocchi Americano, Papaya Shrub, Prosecco
GABRIEL ORTA & ELAD ZVI Broken Shaker, Miami, FL
The sunshine-soaked cult of rosé has finally reached fever pitch and is now making regular appearances in cocktails all over…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS rocks ✵ GARNISH blood orange wheel
KEY INGREDIENTS: Cappelletti, Blood Orange Juice, Vanilla Syrup, Prosecco
Inspired by a cocktail from New York City bartender Natasha David, the crimson-colored Tarocco Spritz is a nod to the flavor…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS wine glass ✵ GARNISH grapefruit half-wheel
KEY INGREDIENTS: Dolin Dry Vermouth, Suze, St-Germain, Fresh Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup
ALEX DAY Nitecap, New York City, NY
This drink was born out of the idea to create a more sippable, bubbly White Negroni (a variation on the classic using Suze, gin,…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS coupe ✵ GARNISH lemon twist
KEY INGREDIENTS: Caraway-Infused Cocchi Americano, Fresh Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup, Peach Preserves, Sparkling Wine
NATASHA DAVID created for Sunshine Co., Brooklyn, NY
Charged with conceptualizing a cocktail menu for Sunshine Co., a Brooklyn bar without a full liquor license, Natasha David was challenged to formulate drinks with the visage of a “real” cocktail, minus the hard spirits. One such result, the Viking Culture is meant to evoke the flavors of Scandinavia…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS double rocks or wine glass ✵ GARNISH rosemary sprig
KEY INGREDIENTS: Braulio, Riesling, Grape Syrup, Crément
Made with a list of ingredients meant to channel the cool, glacial ferocity of the Alps, this spritz has a base of Braulio, an Italian alpine bitter that tastes of menthol and bittersweet pine. The acidic Riesling, homemade grape syrup, and aromatic…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS Collins ✵ GARNISH 2 to 3 skewered blackberries
KEY INGREDIENTS: Blackberries, Fresh Lemon Juice, Cocchi Americano, Champagne or Sparkling Wine
DANIEL ZACHARCZUK The Varnish, Los Angeles, CA
Testing dozens of spritzes for this book revealed a universal…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS Champagne flute or wine glass GARNISH dehydrated blood orange slice or a thin slice of blood orange
KEY INGREDIENTS: Sparkling Dry Rosé, Cappelletti, Reduced Blood Orange Juice
MATTHEW BIANCANIELLO Los Angeles, CA
Matthew Biancaniello’s specialty is hyperseasonal drinking. Each week, he forages through L.A.’s farmers’ markets and green spaces for the best produce available—filling in the gaps with goods from his own garden—and sets it all up like a veritable…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
✵ GLASS large tumbler or highball GARNISH orange, lemon, and lime peels
KEY INGREDIENTS: Cocchi Americano, Fino Sherry, Fresh Lemon Juice, Bittermens Orange Creme Citrate, Cava or Prosecco
GREG BEST Atlanta, GA
Greg Best’s Unnamed Go-To may be the formula that comes closest—philosophically speaking—to the ideal modern spritz recipe. Experimental, somewhat haphazard, and undeniably refreshing, this cooling mixture is the definition of insouciant style.
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS rocks or wine glass ✵ GARNISH grapefruit half-wheel
KEY INGREDIENTS: Cocchi Americano, Lini Lambrusco Rosato, Fresh Grapefruit Juice
Everyone should have a house spritz—a seasonal standard whose proportions are known by heart and ingredients …
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS rocks ✵ GARNISH orange half-wheel with seasonal fruit
KEY INGREDIENTS: Cocchi Barolo Chinato, Cappelletti, Cava
ADAM BERNBACH 2 Birds 1 Stone, Washington, D.C.
Admittedly obsessed with the luscious, bitter allure of Barolo Chinato, Adam Bernbach saw an opportunity to introduce the quinine-fortified wine to the classic Negroni Sbagliato template. Here, he switches the traditional sweet vermouth element for…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS wine glass ✵ GARNISH mint sprig and lemon wheel
KEY INGREDIENTS: St-Germain, Mint Sprig, Prosecco
It’s since become a regional phenomenon, having been commercially co-opted by an Italian company and bottled as a ready-to-drink cocktail, but the original is still a staple in Austria and Germany. Because fresh elderflower isn’t available in the United States, the most widely available replacement…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS Collins or rocks ✵ GARNISH 2 to 3 brandied cherries (preferably Fabbri Amarena)
KEY INGREDIENTS: Brandied Cherries or Fresh Cherries, High-Quality Balsamic Vinegar, Punt e Mes, Carpano Bianco, Prosecco
The Amarena Spritz combines three northern Italian traditions into one drink: Punt e Mes and Carpano Bianco vermouths…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS Collins ✵ GARNISH lemon wheel
KEY INGREDIENTS: Byrrh Grand Quinquina, Lustau Amontillado Sherry, Ancho-Infused Moscatel Sherry, Cranberry Shrub, Fresh Lemon Juice, Sparkling Wine
NATASHA DAVID Nitecap, New York City, NY
From a winter menu at NYC’s Nitecap, the Byrrh It’s Cold…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS Collins ✵ GARNISH mint sprig and lime wheel
KEY INGREDIENTS: Fresh Lime Juice, Orgeat, Pierre Ferrand Dry Orange Curaçao, Denizen Merchant’s Reserve Rum (or Appleton Estate Reserve Rum), Brut Champagne
MARTIN CATE Smuggler’s Cove, San Francisco, CA
Like the many maligned Mai Tai recipes floating about in the…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS rocks ✵ GARNISH orange half-wheel
KEY INGREDIENTS: Pellegrino Aranciata, Zwack Amaro, Prosecco
JIM MEEHAN PDT, New York City, NY
Jim Meehan created this melding of Italo-Hungarian ingredients for the Caffé della Posta in Bolgheri, Italy, in 2011. Zwack siblings Sandor and Izabella (who produce Zwack amaro and Unicum in Hungary) opened the café in the town where they…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS wine glass ✵ GARNISH orange twist
KEY INGREDIENTS: Strega, Cognac, Cappelletti, Fresh Lemon Juice, Angostura Orange Bitters, Sparkling Wine
WILL ELLIOTT Maison Premiere, Brooklyn, NY
The base ingredient in Will Elliott’s complex spritz is the idiosyncratic saffron-infused Strega, a brilliant yellow bitter liqueur whose name means “witch” in Italian. Named after Giuseppe Alberti, who founded the Strega distillery in 1860…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS wine glass ✵ GARNISH orange twist
KEY INGREDIENTS: Vergano Americano, Les Capriades Pet’Sec
JORGE RIERA Wildair, New York City, NY
This naturalist take on the spritz has become a staple at the New York natural wine bar Wildair. A combination of Mauro Vergano Americano, which is made from Grignolino grapes sourced from Piedmontese natural wine producer Cascina…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS wine glass ✵ GARNISH lemon wheel, grapefruit slice, and edible flowers
KEY INGREDIENTS: Dry Rosé, Lillet Rosé, Hibiscus Tea, Fresh Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup, Aperol, Sparkling Wine
NATASHA DAVID Nitecap, New York City, NY
This explosion of flower-garnished pinkness was inspired by a traditional sangria template, but instead of white or red wine, Natasha David swapped in rosé and layered it with a splash of bitter Aperol and the subtly sweet punch of Lillet Rosé. Hibiscus…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
GLASS coupe ✵ GARNISH 2 Castelvetrano olives
KEY INGREDIENTS: Amaro Nardini, Aperol, Fresh Lemon Juice, Castelvetrano Olive Brine, Prosecco
KENENIAH BYSTROM Essex, Seattle, WA
This drink is a riff on another cocktail called the Sweet Olive…
Modern
BACK TO LIST
FULL RECIPE
✵ GLASS Collins or rocks GARNISH orange wheel
KEY INGREDIENTS: Aperol, Fresh Orange Juice, Fresh Grapefruit Juice, Prosecco
TERRONI, Los Angeles, CA
The Aperol Betty is barely more than a glorified, bittersweet…