Recently, I
was in Europe at an evening party with my husband. The alcohol was freely flowing, but
I didn’t want to get buzzed because there were a number of people I wanted to
speak with. So I asked the bartender if he could make me something “light.” He
took one look at my jacket (which was orange, red, black and yellow) and
brought me a red-orange drink in a pretty stemmed glass, which he
called an Aperol Spritz.
Little
did I know it’s the trendiest drink in Europe. (And soon-to-be in the U.S. too,
is my prediction.)
Aperol
is a citrusy bitter liqueur that has been popular in Italy since the 1950s, but
this summer its popularity seems to have spread like wildfire. Literally every
person I stopped to speak with at the party said, “That’s an Aperol Spritz!”
and seemed dumbfounded when I admitted I had never heard of it before.
The attention-grabbing orange liqueur is combined with either white wine or prosecco or champagne, and topped
off with a splash of tonic water or club soda. Customizable to your own taste!
Now
that I’m back in the U.S. (and asking friends about my new favorite drink) I’m
finding out that an Aperol Spritz almost as popular in California and New York as it is in
Europe. I understand someone has even created a frozen version, like a slushie!
According
to a recent article in the New York Times, the spike in Aperol consumption is
in line with a rising demand in the U.S. for herbal bitter liqueurs.
Traditionally, these bitters have been produced in Europe, but now,
American-made versions are taking off in popularity.
So…
give this orange-y bubbly low-alcohol drink a try. It’s very refreshing on a
hot summer day, and it just might become your new favorite drink! It's definitely mine.
Leigh
