Tasty, colorful and refreshing - sounds like a drink perfect for the heat! This is what Aperol Sptritz is like, which has been experiencing the apogee of popularity around the world for some time. And not only during the vacation months - it is becoming an element of social gatherings more and more often, replacing the place with previously successful cocktails. The popularity of Aperol can be proved by statistics - it was the best-selling cocktail in 2019!
Where did this Aperol Spritz actually come from?
Many of you may not have known a cocktail called "Aperol Spritz" some time ago. You are probably wondering what he is and where does his sudden popularity come from? Exactly - when we look at the history of this hot drink, it turns out that it is not so sudden! Aperol Spritz has an interesting and not so short history.
Do you associate history with the turn of the Enlightenment and Romanticism, i.e. the 18th and 19th centuries? Well - you may be surprised to learn that this period not only left behind exceptional works of art, literature and poetry, but also drinks! Because that's when Aperol Spritz was created. Where does it come from? How come from !? From sunny Italy.
The Habsburg stay in Italy ended with a Spritz
The aforementioned turn of the 18th and 19th centuries was the moment when Lombardy and Veneto came under Austrian rule. The Habsburgs therefore sent their soldiers to station in these areas. And as you know, man does not live by work alone, so a soldier must somehow relax after the service. In their homeland, Austrian soldiers mostly drank beer. In sunny Italy, however, they had to be content with wine. What's the problem with that? And the fact that the wine was much stronger, and the scorching sun and heat only intensified the undesirable effects of alcohol on the body.
Necessity is the mother of invention. Can you not drink alcohol because it is too strong, but at the same time you do not want to give it up completely? Then it's a good idea to dilute it! And so did the Austrian soldiers. White wine sprinkled with sparkling or soda water ("spritzen" in German means "sprinkle") was the first version of the Aperol Spritz drink that was made. And what's interesting - you can still find her in this form in the Veneto Region!
Aperol Spritz and its further evolution
"Sprinkled wine" quickly gained popularity, and with it began to be combined with flavor modifications. What did they consist of? Instead of ordinary wine, fortified wine was added, or traditional wine was "seasoned" with liqueurs, which strengthened the cocktail a little and gave additional flavor.
And this is how Aperol, as we know it today, was created. It happened at the beginning of the 20th century, so about 100 years after the original was invented! The authors of the liqueur popular today were the Italian brothers Luigi and Silvio Barbieri. They inherited the liqueur factory from their father. Work on the recipe took as long as 7 years - it was finally presented in Padua in 1912. Interestingly, the exact recipe of Aperol is still unknown. It is known to be a herbal liqueur, inspired by the French term for an aperitif ("Apero"), from which it got its name. Probably the basic ingredients are bitter orange, rhubarb, cinchona and herb extract. And which ones? This is what we do not know - it is a closely guarded secret!
Another 100 years of history
Aperol's popularity grew after World War II. It was in the 1950s that the recipe for the cocktail "Aperol Spritz", known to us today, was created. It gained considerable popularity in its homeland, and Italian youth especially liked it. The popularity of the drink in other countries was also slowly increasing (probably due to tourism). However, the real apogee of popularity did not begin until the beginning of the 21st century, when Aperol was acquired by the Campari group, which invested heavily in an advertising campaign. As you can see today - it has paid off much, because Aperol Spritz is ordered more and more often and not only on hot days!
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