SPRITZ

Spritz is the aperitivo par excellence in the North of Italy. It's deceptively easy drinking and it's usually not too strong, although this can vary a lot depending on the proportions chosen by the bartender... I tasted versions that packed quite a punch.

For me it's also a very festive drink, with its bright reddish color, so I thought it would make for an appropriate toast to the Three Kings:).

The classic trio of ingredients would be prosecco, either Campari or Aperol, and sparkling water. Prosecco is a dry, sparkling white wine, usually of good quality but rather cheap; it's sort of a less glamorous cousin of champagne. Comes from the Venice area - that's where Spritz was originally invented. Campari, in case you don't know it, is a bitter liquor that can be found in pretty much any big supermarket. Aperol is similar but less strong, both in terms of taste and alcohol percentage; hard to find around here, anyway.

Various Italian towns/cities/areas/bars have their own customized versions of Spritz, where prosecco is often replaced by a local wine. In Trento for example they use Ferrari; in Brescia a very popular aperitivo goes under the name of Pirlo, and is suspiciously similar to Spritz - prosecco is generally replaced with a Franciacorta wine. Unusual variants include non-sparkling wine, or liquors like Cynar (artichoke flavored) and China Martini instead of Campari/Aperol.

Spritz is usually served in a wine glass or a large tumbler, with ice and a slice of lemon or orange. Being an aperitivo, it is often accompanied by munchies or, in the best places, by tapas-like dishes that can get quite elaborated.

The version I have prepared:

-30% Campari
-30% tonic water
-40% cava semiseco (I used a Codorniu, bought for 7 euros at a shop in the neighborhood)
-a slice of orange
-ice

Simple yet very effective :). By the way, I found out there are some places in Madrid that serve Spritz, like Nonsolocaffé and Il Profumo d'Italia. I'll have to take a look...