The Campari Spritz is an Aperol Spritz built on Campari instead. Campari is bitterer, drier, and a deeper red than Aperol, and the swap turns a gentle crowd-pleaser into a properly bracing aperitivo.
For when the Aperol Spritz feels a touch too friendly.
Bitter, Not Sweet
Aperol is light and orange-sweet; Campari is its older, sterner sibling — higher in proof, far more bitter, built on a darker, more medicinal mix of herbs. The Campari Spritz is the same three-part formula with the dial turned firmly toward bitterness.
A Veneto Tradition
The Spritz format — wine, a bitter, soda — is a fixture of the Veneto, where the late-afternoon aperitivo is a daily ritual. Long before Aperol's marketing made the Spritz global, locals built theirs with Campari, Select, or whatever bitter the bar favoured.
Build It in the Glass
Like every Spritz, it is built, not stirred hard: ice, Prosecco, Campari, a splash of soda, one gentle lift with a spoon. An orange slice is the usual garnish; a green olive, oddly, is the old Venetian touch.
The Aperol Spritz Family
The classic — Aperol, Prosecco, and a splash of soda over ice, with an orange slice.
- 3 ozProsecco
- 2 ozAperol
- SplashSoda water
The Alpine Spritz — elderflower and fresh mint, light and floral.
- 3 ozProsecco
- 1 ozElderflower syrup
- 1 ozSoda water
The Spritz gone bright yellow — limoncello for the bitter, lemony and sunlit.
- 3 ozProsecco
- 2 ozLimoncello
- 1 ozSoda water