Hot and lazy Sundays always make us crave a simple drink that cools and refreshes.
We have been frequenting a new wine shop in town that has a huge selection, 10 cent wine tastings, and obscure liquors. Last week, I stumbled upon a bottle of Aperol in the aperitif aisle. I tried Aperol while traveling in Italy in college. A friend of mine was studying abroad for the year and some of our group went out to visit. He had been told that when in Venice, we must try a cocktail called a Spritz al Aperol. We had several rounds of them in Venice and I remember the drink being refreshing and tasty. I also remember it having an olive floating in it. It sounded like the perfect drink to cools us off this evening.
I bought the supplies to make a Spritz al Aperol (but forgot the olives) and followed the recipe on the back of the bottle.
Experiment 1
1 1/2 oz Aperol
2 oz dry sparkling wine
a splash of sparkling water
Mrs C says - "The drink is more of an orange color than I remember, and really good until the bitter aftertaste catches up with you."
Mr C says - "Refreshing followed by a bitter explosion"
Experiment 2
1 1/2 oz Aperol
2 oz sparkling wine
a splash of sparkling water
slice of lemon
Mrs C says - "I think that helped make it better- Oh no, no, here comes the bitter again"
Mr C says - "I think that made it worse."
Experiment 3
1 oz Aperol
2 oz sparkling wine
2 oz sparkling water
Mrs C says - "Better. Less of a shock to the taste buds, although still a bit rough on the aftertaste"
Mr C says - "Still bitter. I don't like bitter. At all."
Mr C's final tally 1 out of 10 taste buds
Mrs C's final tally 5 out of 10 taste buds