Venetian Spritz is one of the most popular aperitifs in the world, with a fresh flavor, not excessively alcoholic and easy to prepare.
All this makes it the ideal cocktail to serve on informal evenings of relaxation and good food.
How many types of Spritz are there? Several, not to mention many, there is the Spritz Hugo with elderberry syrup, the Brusco spritz, prepared with Lambrusco, the spritz with beer and many others.
In this article we will talk about the Venetian Spritz, we will first of all make a very brief mention of its origins and we will propose 3 recipes: that of Venetian Spritz, Veneto Spritz and IBA version.
But let’s start by discovering the meaning of his name …..
The word spritz comes from the German verb spritzen which means to sprinkle. In fact, it seems that at the time of the Habsburg domination in Veneto, the Austrian soldiers asked the hosts for a splash of water inside the glass of wine.
Originally, therefore, the spritz was composed solely of sparkling wine and water.
However, it seems that habit of adding a little water to wine was already present in Veneto before arrival of Austrians.
Venetian spritz with Select or Aperol?
Over the years the recipe has undergone a creative evolution, up to the 70s, when the fashion of the Venetian Spritz explodes as we know it today, or with white wine (often Prosecco), seltzer water and the addition of a third ingredient, a bitter, which for Venetians is Select, born in Venice in the 1920s.
The production of Select began in post-war period, when Pilla brothers founded the distillery in Castello district, in historic center of the city.
The name to this famous bitter seems to have been given by Gabriele D’Annunzio, who shortened the Latin term Selectus, to indicate that selection chosen to produce this bitter was very welcome.
Spritz in Veneto is often also prepared with Aperol, a bitter produced in Padua, whose production always began in the first post-war period.
It was only in 2011 that the Spritz became an official IBA (Internatiol Bartenders Association) cocktail which codified a recipe with Aperol, however allowing some variations, with Cynar, Campari or Select.
Whichever version you decide to consume, the important thing is to accompany it with cicchetti, typical Venetian appetizers.
Often these are small slices of bread on which creamed cod is spread, or mozzarella in carriages.
Fried meatballs and slices of polenta are also served, in short, super delicious finger food.
Do you want to serve the aperitif with something tasty and easy to prepare? Then puff pastry mini pizzas and cheese breadsticks could be for you.
Here are three spritz recipes … it’s up to you to find the one you prefer.
Get the Recipes…..
How to prepare Venetian Spritz:
7,5 cl of Prosecco
5 cl of Select
2,5 cl of Seltz/Soda
ice to taste
1 large green olive
We fill a glass with ice then pour Prosecco, Select and fill with Seltz or Soda.
Stick a large green olive with a wooden toothpick and place it inside the cocktail.
How to prepare the Spritz Veneto:
1/3 of sparkling white wine
1/ 3 of bitter ( Aperol,Select,Campari)
1/3 of sparkling water
1 slice of orange or 1 olive
We put some ice cubes in an old fashioned glass, then pour wine, bitter and fill with sparkling water.
We garnish with an olive or an orange slice.
How to prepare the official IBA Spritz:
90 ml of Prosecco
60 ml of Aperol
a splash of soda water
ice to taste
1 slice of orange
We fill a wine glass with ice then pour Prosecco, Aperol and top with soda water.
We mix gently and garnish with an orange slice.
Paolone’s advice:
Spritz is synonymous with an aperitif, to organized at home, to relax with friends in pleasant chat.
If you have opportunity, surely i recommend you to enjoy Spritz sitting in Piazza San Marco in Venice, with orchestra playing live … there will surely be a magical atmosphere.
Would you like to try a non-alcoholic Spritz? Check out our non-alcoholic Hugo version.
