How to make the perfect Spritz

Ten years ago, the United Kingdom was largely unaware of the Spritz and its bittersweet charms. The Negroni was gaining popularity in our bars, a European import that dovetailed nicely with a general levelling-up of our national cocktail programme. But most of the Aperol in these parts was gathering dust in last generation’s Italian restaurants. This all changed when some canny marketing spend by Aperol’s owner, the drinks titan Gruppo Campari, put bright orange deckchairs and branded glassware in cities up-and-down the country. In just a few years, we became a nation of Spritz drinkers – captivated by the light, appetite stimulating, low-ABV afternooner to such an extent that it’s come to overshadow homegrown favourites like Pimm’s.