Amaro Spritz

Amaro, Prosecco, and soda — the 19th-century Veneto Spritz (Habsburg soldiers diluting wine, spritzen: to splash) applied to whichever amaro suits the season.

The Amaro Spritz applies the most successful aperitivo format of the 21st century to the broad Italian category of bitter herbal liqueurs, producing a refreshing, low-ABV drink that showcases each amaro's distinct botanical character. The Spritz format traces to 19th-century Veneto, where Austrian soldiers stationed in the region during Habsburg rule found local wines too strong and began diluting them with a splash of water — the word spritz itself comes from the German spritzen, to splash. The format evolved through the 20th century as a wine-and-soda serve, then achieved its modern form when Aperol's aggressive national marketing campaign in the 1990s and 2000s formalized the Aperol Spritz as Italy's aperitivo drink of choice: three parts Prosecco, two parts Aperol, one part soda water. The craft cocktail movement of the 2010s drove an enormous expansion in American amaro appreciation — sales of Italian amaro in the United States grew dramatically through the decade as bartenders used the category as a vehicle for education and menu differentiation. The Amaro Spritz emerged as the natural result: a template that applies the established Spritz structure to whichever amaro best suits the season, the setting, or the drinker's preference, from the gentle citrus of Montenegro to the intense herbal bitterness of Fernet-Branca or the artichoke depth of Cynar.