APEROL SPRITZ

Classifying Aperol as a liqueur undersells it — it's technically an amaro leggero, a light bitter herbal liqueur, and its 11% ABV was genuinely radical when Luigi and Silvio Barbieri debuted it at the 1919 Padua International Fair. The recipe draws on 16 botanicals, including bitter orange, gentian root, and cinchona bark, with herbs and roots sourced largely from Piedmont; it has remained unchanged since launch. Production is straightforward: maceration in neutral spirit, no aging, filtered and bottled. The result is sweet orange on entry, soft pink-grapefruit-peel bitterness in the middle, and a lightly spiced finish. Build the Spritz 3:2:1 — Prosecco D.O.C., Aperol, soda water.