The Spritz Veneziano is an IBA cocktail that belongs to the ‘New Era Drinks’. The cocktail is based on a spritzer, a mixture of equal parts of wine and sparkling water. The spritzer was often drunk in Venice by Austrians who occupied Venice during the 19th Century. The wine that the Austrians could get in Venice had a much higher alcohol percentage than Austrian wine. To slightly reduce the alcohol percentage, they added water to the Italian wine. Over the years, other ingredients have been added to the Spritz to make the drink a little more upscale. The version of the Spritz Veneziano that has become immensely popular in recent years is the Aperol Spritz. Since there is no alcohol-free Aperol, we need to look for alternatives to the orange stuff to create an alcohol-free Aperol Spritz. We found two and so we will make two versions of a non-alcoholic Aperol Spritz.
Alcohol-free Aperol
Aperol is a brand name of an Italian aperitif made from rhubarb and gentian. It is somewhat reminiscent of Campari, but contains only half of the alcohol. It is produced by Campari. That is why we first and foremost searched the Campari group for an alcohol-free alternative to Aperol. Crodino is also produced by Campari and contains some ingredients that are also used in Aperol, which makes Crodino perhaps the most suitable alternative. In addition to Crodino, we found Palermo Amarino. Colorwise, this is Palermo identical to Apérol, but it tastes slightly sweeter. Yet these two drinks are the best alternatives to make an alcohol-free Spritz Veneziano. In addition to Aperol, Prosecco is also used in an Aperol Spritz, which we replace with an alcohol-free sparkling wine that is not too sweet.
What do you need?
- 6 cl. Non-alcoholic sparkling wine.
- 4 cl. Crodino or Palermo Amarino
- Sparkling water
- Ice cubes
How do you make it?
You fill a glass with ice and pour the 6 cl non-alcoholic sparkling wine and the 4 cl. Crodino or Palermo Amarino on the ice cubes. You then fill the glass with a little spray water, best not too much so the taste does not completely dissapear. You can garnish by placing half a slice of orange in the glass. Very easy, but a very nice drink for a warm, summer day. Cheers!
