4 Unexpected Spritz Swaps That Experts Swear by (and Your Friends Will Love)

Summer's here and you know what that means ... It's spritz season! Delicious and light, a spritzer is one of my favorites. And as far as cocktails go, it's a lower alcohol option, which is trending—you can always add more soda water to lower the ABV. The aperol sprtiz is an easy standard, and because the cocktail is so simple, you can change up ingredients to experiment and tailor a drink to your taste. "The way to think about a spritz is that there are no wrong answers," says Aaron Blakely, bartender and owner of The Junction restaurant and bar in Roscoe, New York. "Get to know the format and swap out the ingredients until you find the ones you love."

That's the beauty of the spritz: "You don't have to become a mixologist to make some fun and delicious summer cocktails," says Meg McNeil, owner of Upstream Wine and Spirits and Sunshine Colony in Livingston Manor, New York. So what makes a good spritz? Here are some ideas.

The Spritz Formula

The one thing to remember is the basic spritz formula, which is:

• Three parts bubbles + two parts bitter + one part sparkle & garnish.

In an aperol spritz, that's three parts prosecco, two parts aperol and one part soda water with a garnish of an orange slice or peel. For starters, you could swap out the prosecco for cava, a sparkling Spanish wine. "Cava is often drier and has bigger bubbles," McNeil explains. (And it's also inexpensive.)

For a garnish, you can add a bay leaf, which gives the drink a savory quality. Before you add the bay leaf, give it a good smack. "This is called bruising or shocking the leaf and it gets the oils going so they blend with the other liquors in the drink," explains William Baldwin, former beverage director at Foster Supply Hospitality.

Switch Out the Aperol

There are a variety of liquors you can make the spritz with instead of aperol. Consider trying:

Vermouth. McNeil recommends going with a sweet white or red vermouth. "Both vermouth and aperol have herbal notes; they're both made with herbs and roots," she explains. So you're changing the flavor profile of the spritz but slightly. For both vermouth and aperol, adding mint or bay leaf will bring out the herbal notes in the liquors. (A great way to use homegrown mint!)

A fruit liquor. This is the perfect summery swap-in. You can find many fruit liquors including limoncello, cassis (made from currants), and lots of grapefruit liquors on the market. A few combos from McNeil:
•Cassis, prosecco, soda and lemon peel. The lemon peel will add a bit of bitterness and acidity to offset the sugar.
•Grapefruit liquor, prosecco, soda. Adding some mint or thyme will make it paloma-ish.

Select Aperitivo. An aperitiv created in Venice in the 1920s, it's the base of a Select Spritz, (3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Select, 1 part soda water), which actually came before the popular Aperol Spritz. Select is not as sweet as Aperol and has botanical notes of rhubarb and juniper berries.

Try This Sweet Ingredient

A great way to switch up your spritzes is to include a fruit purée, says Blakely. You can customize it to the season. For summer, you can try blueberry or strawberry; for fall, pear or ginger, for winter, blood orange or kumquat.

You can make your own or buy one from one of a company like Boiron or Perfect Puree, Blakely advises. "Just keep the puree in a squeeze bottle in the fridge for a few weeks at a time and freeze the rest." A favorite puree of Aaron's is passion fruit, which he uses in his signature Stonefly Spritz: Select Aperitivo, Prosecco, and passion fruit puree.

Now, Make the Spritz Like an Expert

Here's Blakely's technique: Build your spritz by first adding ice to your glass and pouring the sparkling wine until the foam nearly reaches the top. Then, knock down the foam with the aperitivo of choice, usually about 2 ounces. Finally, squeeze in about an ounce of the fruit puree. Garnish with a slice of citrus, herbs, olives, or berries—and cheers!