Spritz: from the Veneto to the world, history and the 3-2-1 recipe

The Spritz is Italy’s signature aperitif, yet its origin has surprisingly foreign roots. It’s proof that great classics often come from a practical need, not a flash of genius.

An Austrian idea, on Venetian soil

The story starts in the 1800s, during Austro-Hungarian rule over the Veneto. Soldiers, merchants and officials of the Empire found the local wines too heavy for their taste and asked innkeepers to “spray” (German spritzen) a little water to lighten them. The first spritz was exactly that: diluted wine.

The leap came in the twentieth century. Aperol was born in Padua in 1919, created by the Barbieri brothers; Select in Venice in 1920. Through the 1920s and 1930s the wine began to meet local bitters, but it was only in the 1970s that the modern recipe took shape, with Prosecco in place of still wine: more bubbles, fresher, better suited to a new generation.

The 3-2-1 rule

The recipe recognised by the International Bartenders Association follows the famous 3-2-1 ratio:

• 3 parts Prosecco (90 ml)
• 2 parts Aperol (60 ml)
• 1 part soda water (30 ml)

It’s built directly in the glass over ice, pouring the Prosecco first so the bubbles survive, then the Aperol and finally the soda. Garnish: an orange slice.

Not just Aperol

The Spritz is a family, not a single drink. Change the bitter and you change the character: Aperol is the sweetest and most citrusy, Campari is more bitter and bold, Select carries the original “Venetian” profile, Cynar plays on vegetal notes. The 3-2-1 structure stays the starting point, to tune to your own taste.

The Spritz at Jimmy

At our place, in the university area of Bologna, the Spritz is the easiest way to open the evening: plenty of ice, cold Prosecco and your choice of bitter. It’s the aperitif everyone agrees on — and the one the night so often starts from.