I’m pretty sure Death & Co. called elderflower liqueur “The Bartender’s Ketchup” in one of their books, possibly The Cocktail Codex (still waiting for the return on that one, Matt). I feel elderflower has faded a bit from the limelight and now Aperol, at least over here on Wilshire Boulevard, seems to go with nearly anything I put in it. The girls came over last night and wanted spritzes but all I had in the fridge was some sparkling rose. That worked just fine. For the record, just put anything with bubbles into a glass with enough Aperol and ice and your guests will be happy.

The official Aperol spritz recipe on the product’s website reads like this:

2 oz. Aperol

3 oz. Prosecco

Splash soda.

Slice of orange

Pretty easy. This is the recipe we use at Rustic. If they want it done like this, we may as well follow along although I don’t really see the point of the soda, you may as well forgo it and just add more prosecco.

The aunties and Nana were thirsty and we quickly ran out of sparkling rose, and so I made them radler spritzes which worked smashingly. I’ll call it a Rad Ape. It got me thinking that you could put Aperol in almost anything. I mean, it works with bourbon (paper plane) or mezcal (naked & famous). A quarter ounce dash in a cocktail, such as a paloma, improves it immensly. You see? I’m here for your summer crushable cocktail ideas.

Aperol is in good company with both Cynar and Fernet (Branca) as Italian words without vowels at the end. Unlike the counterpart it’s most compared to, Campari, it’s only slightly bitter. The only ingredients the company allows us are bitter rhubarb, gentian, and cinchona but it’s easy to surmise there’s some citrus products in there as well as whatever chemicals and/or dyes make it a vibrant reddish orange color.

I had no idea what a radler even was before I started writing this morning. Well, I’m here to inform you that it’s not as complicated as it sounds. Think about it as a shandy but instead of soda, it’s made with juice. There’s a mildly complicated history about it. Read more here. The cool thing about the radler is the low ABV quality. The Stiegl version in the pic above clocks in at a whopping 2%. Good for summer days when you want to slam a few and hydrate at the same time. For those who don’t know, pretty much anything below 5% helps hydrate you while you drink which is why Miller High Life is the nectar of the gods.

I suppose you could make your own radler by combining beer and juice. Go ahead. No one is stopping you. In fact, go ham and add all kinds of crazy shit like Topo Chico, just don’t forget the Aperol, it’ll help bump the ABV back up a bit so you can at least catch a mild buzz. Need a recipe? Ok. Do this:

2 oz. Aperol

3 oz. Topo Chico

1 oz. Fruit Juice

6 oz. IPA

Throw it all in a glass with some ice and give it a stir. Depending on your choice of IPA, this may get beyond the low ABV portion of your evening but it also depends how fast you drink it and how hot it is where you are (the ice will melt and bring the ABV down). I don’t know anymore. I think the point is to just add some Aperol to whatever you have laying around, make it cold, and you’ll be happy. You can get fancy and cut up some oranges if you want.

It’s been a hectic morning. There may be some big news about the book, but i could also blow it like I did last time. We’ll see.