The Spritz, the famous Italian cocktail... created by Austrians
The Spritz, the famous Italian cocktail... created by Austrians
It is said that the Spritz is an Italian creation, but that is not entirely true. I tell you the true story of the orange-colored cocktail.
Water in wine? This is a pretty crazy idea. And yet, it is this almost sacrilegious gesture that gave birth to Veneto's cult cocktail: the spritz.
This bittersweet mixture with fine bubbles and warm colors, between bright orange and amber red, is the result of a happy coincidence.
It all started at the dawn of the 19th century, when northern Italy was under the sway of Vienna. The subjects of the House of Habsburg, merchants, diplomats or soldiers, took their ease in the lagoon of Venice and its surroundings. In the taverns of the Serenissima, the Austrian soldiers demanded local wine, often sparkling. But it was too strong for their beer-accustomed throats. The tenants therefore used to "sprinkle" (spritzen in German) their glasses of red or white with still water.
This is how the spritz was born, and this is how it is still enjoyed, liscio (plain), in the regions of Trieste and Udine or in certain countries of Eastern Europe, such as Hungary or Romania. .
However, it took decades for this drink to conquer the French. No miracle, but an effective marketing plan from the distributor of Aperol, one of the bitters that makes it possible to concoct the spritz. Result: 10,000 liters of this liqueur exported to France in 2011… but 750,000 in 2015.
An invasion strategy worthy of an Austrian army!
