Aperol Spritz
This year for Mother’s Day I’d love to sleep in and have breakfast served to me in bed. Sleeping in, you ask? Why do you want that for Mother’s Day? That’s a regular weekend, isn’t it? Not in my house it isn’t. Since I had my two boys I have no idea what the words “sleeping in” mean. To me, sleeping in is sleeping until 7 am, or if I’m really, really lucky 7:30. Yes, my boys are early risers and by early I mean 5:30 or 6 am. So, you can understand how I’d love to catch up on my sleep on Sunday and stay in bed until at least… oh, I don’t know… 8 am?
But I don’t want to get up at 8. No! I want to lounge in bed for awhile, maybe read a magazine, while sipping on some coffee and of course a cocktail. I am, after all me, and a Mother’s Day breakfast, wouldn’t be breakfast without a nice tall cocktail. Now while I love a good mimosa, (it is the classic choice for this holiday after all) I also like to think outside the box. So this year, instead of orange juice and champagne, I’d like a nice, tall Aperol Spritz.
Yes, it’s true there’s no orange juice in this drink, so you may think it’s too strong for a brunch beverage. But believe me when I tell you this drink is anything but strong. Since it’s mixed with champagne and club soda, the Aperol, which is actually an apertif, simply adds a nice flavor to the cocktail rather than liquoring you up. This cocktail is so refreshing, in fact, there’s no reason why you couldn’t drink them for breakfast, lunch and dinner all through the spring and summer.
The spritz stemmed from German soldiers enjoying white wines in Italy, but found the alcohol content to be too high. In order to counteract the alcohol, the soldiers started diluting their wine with club soda, and the spritz was born. While the spritz has been around since the 1800’s, the Aperol Spritz wasn’t created until 1919 when the Barbieri brothers launched Aperol at the Padua International Fair in Italy. In order to make the Aperol more refreshing, the brothers took a page from the Germans and added Prosecco instead of wine and the Aperol Spritz became an Italian favorite.
So this year, for Mother’s Day leave the orange juice in the fridge and serve your mom and Aperol Spritz instead. But please, let her (me) sleep in first… an extra 15 or 20 minutes should suffice.
Aperol Spritz
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Aperol
- 3 oz. Prosecco
- 1 oz. club soda
Directions:
- Fill a collins glass with ice. Add the Aperol, Prosecco and top with the soda. Stir and garnish with a lemon wedge. Serve immediately.
