I know Aperol has been around for a century and the spritz wildly trendy in the US since 2018 or so (likely before), and I should thus be skeptical or perhaps even derisive, but they are a recent discovery for me, and when combined with sunshine and an outdoor setting, holy sh*t I could guzzle them by the gallon.
At a 2:1 wine-to-aperitif ratio over ice, I think sweet-bitter rearranges the descriptors correctly. The sugar is certainly there, but not too cloying when cut with dry wine and ice, and the herbal + bitter orange notes offset everything nicely and keep each sip interesting. Even better with a touch more citrus oil - expressed orange rind or a few drops of bitters. Good with any dry white or rosé, sparking or not. Haven't sipped it directly over ice, but don't intend to. I'm already sure its better this way.
Maybe these will get old for me eventually, but let’s just say I need to stock up on a few bottles for warm weather season 2020.
21.0
USD
per
Bottle
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
@ghill40509 that sounds fantastic. Just the right amount of sugar and the bitter + orange notes would make it intriguing and addictive. Ok, I’m off to the laboratory - thanks for the tip!
Nice review. I use this 1:4 with bourbon to make my wife an Italian Whiskey Sour. Garnish with a twist of blood orange peel
@cascode cheers! May have ended up with a few empties of this particular product this year. What are your favorite (readily available) <= 50 proof spritz-ready aperitivos? I have barely dipped my toe into the options. Had and liked Cappelletti, but found it much much more enjoyable with a very different structure than Aperol (seltzer only, no wine, and a tiny squeeze of lemon). Have heard positive things about Select. I consider Campari a different animal than the low proofers.
@bigwhitemike An excellent review - you absolutely nailed it.