With the arrival of summer and the first warm, sunny days, Turin sheds the cold greyness of Winter and turns to the pastel colours of Spring.
The fresh days of March bring with them the desire to go out with friends and share and, in fact, there is no better time to enjoy the views and sunny squares of Turin, before the summer heat arrives, with overbearance, to make us gasp.
In this month’s post we are going to talk about what, for us, is perhaps the most anticipated moment of the day: the aperitif! During Spring months, in Turin, there is nothing better than ending the day or the working week with a Spritz in your hand and the sun still high in the sky.
Colourful, refreshing and not too alcoholic, the Spritz has become, over time, the king of Happy Hour all over the Country. From North to South, with its thousands of variations, the Spritz brightens evenings with friends and gives us carefree moments.
Where was the Spritz born?
There is still a certain amount of mystery surrounding the history of the Spritz, but it seems that one of the most widely accepted hypotheses places the origins of the Spritz at a time that is anything but recent. In fact, this cocktail was born between the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th Century in Venice, during the Austrian domination.
When Hapsburg soldiers first tasted Venetian wines – a little too strong for their palates – they decided to soften the flavour by diluting them with sparkling water. The name itself, in fact, originates from the German word “spritzen”, which literally means “to spray”.
So, white wine and sparkling water is the first true ancestor of our beloved aperitif cocktail. Although in some areas of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Spritz is still served this way, the version we all know today was only born in the 1920s, when Venetian barmen decided to “colour” the mixture with Bitter.
Since then, the first variants of the recipe that the whole Triveneto region still claims today were born. The one from Padua, spiced with Aperol, is definitely the version of the Spritz that has had the greatest success, spreading first throughout Northern Italy, until it conquered aperitifs all over the world.
A hundred shades of Spritz
Due to its history, defining this cocktail with a single recipe is almost impossible. In fact, there are several variations. Let’s discover together the thousand nuances of Spritz!
Official IBA recipe:
- 6 cl Prosecco
- 4 cl Aperol
- A splash of soda/seltz
Venetian recipe:
- 1/3 sparkling white wine
- 1/3 bitter
- 1/3 sparkling water
Brescian recipe (Pirlo):
- 4 cl Campari or Aperol
- 4 cl dry white wine
- a splash of soda or very sparkling water
Enjoy Smile Tree’s version of the Spritz in Turin
While Veneto cafés offer the Mixed Spritz, in which the Aperol is replaced by a mix of Campari and Cynar, Smile Tree, in Turin, offer its very own version of the world’s most famous cocktail.
The Smile Spritz is the perfect aperitif cocktail for those who want to try a creative and curious version of the most popular drink. With a touch of sweetness of pineapple and the strong character of ginger, Smile Spritz is definitely a Spritz with a strong personality.
The citrus notes of the Aperol blend perfectly with the delicate pineapple, giving this cocktail new freshness for those shy Spring days.
What are you waiting for, at Smile Tree you can drink a Spritz like you’ve never had before, as well as enjoy vegan recipes and cocktails with a refined flavour and design, in one of Turin’s most beautiful squares.
Click here if you want to reserve a table for you and your friends! Smile Tree and its staff are waiting for you in Piazza della Consolata, in Turin.