Hugo Spritz

South Tyrol's floral answer to the Aperol Spritz, this contemporary classic brings Alpine meadow freshness to the Italian spritz tradition -- the drink's original 2005 formula used lemon balm syrup instead; see the history below.

The Hugo was created in June 2005 by bartender Roland Gruber -- known locally as "AK" -- at the San Zeno wine and cocktail bar in his hometown of Naturns (Naturno), in the bilingual, largely German-speaking South Tyrol province of northern Italy. Gruber first called his creation "Otto" before renaming it Hugo, and built it as a lighter alternative to the Spritz Veneziano and Aperol Spritz then dominant in the regional aperitivo scene. His original recipe paired Prosecco with lemon balm (Melissa) syrup, soda water, mint and a squeeze of lime; when lemon balm grew harder to source, he switched to elderflower syrup, which was more readily available in the Alps, and that swap gave the Hugo the floral character it is known for today. Elderflower liqueur later became the more common modern preparation as bartenders outside South Tyrol adopted the drink, particularly after St-Germain -- an elderflower liqueur made from blossoms hand-picked in the French Alps' Haute-Savoie region and launched in 2007 by Rob Cooper's Cooper Spirits Company -- gave bars worldwide a readily available bottled option. Gruber later bartended in Switzerland, where the Hugo became a genuine rival to the Aperol Spritz through the late 2000s, and it remains one of South Tyrol's most successful cocktail exports and a staple of Central European aperitivo menus.