Use This Formula to Make a Spritz With Any Drink

The sun is out in full force, which means we’re about to see a splash of sprays – mostly Aperols. And while I’m not against Aperol spritz , I’ve reached saturation point. Luckily, you can easily make a spritz with a wide variety of alcoholic beverages. I’m not talking about replacing Aperol with Campari – although you certainly could – but about including something a little more edgy, like gin, tequila, or even whiskey.

If you prefer tequila, you’re in luck. Anna Billingskog of Food52 has written a detailed guide to tequila-based drinks . If you don’t like tequila, that’s okay too – you can still use Billing’s clever 1:1:2 ratio (1 part booze, 1 part amaro or similar, and 2 parts bubbles).

With the exception of booze, the other two are infinitely customizable. “Amaro or something like that” refers to your standard Italian bitters (like Campari and Aperol), but can also include vermouth and non-alcoholic bitter carbonated drinks (like Crodino or San Bitter) or something like Ghia, which trying to imitate the scent of Campari and the like without alcohol. The bubbles can be sparkling wine, soda, kombucha, carbonated drinks, or any combination of these.

A gin spritz, for example, might be 2 ounces of gin, 2 ounces of dry curacao, and 4 ounces of sparkling wine (or a combination of 2 ounces of sparkling wine and 2 ounces of kombucha). If you want to make something like crappy mezcal, try 2 ounces of mezcal, 2 ounces of aperol, and 4 ounces of lemon-lime soda. For a whiskey spritz, you can make 2 ounces of whiskey, 2 ounces of sweet vermouth, and 4 ounces of ginger beer. You got the idea.

No matter how you prepare your spritz, be sure to serve it in a large glass with plenty of ice and some citrus wedge. Spritzes just taste better in a big glass, and it’s nice to snack on fruit.