Venetian Spritz

It’s very likely you’ve heard of Campari and Aperol. Negronis (Campari is a key ingredient) and Aperol Spritzes are some of the most popular drinks over the last five plus years. But have you heard of Select Aperitivo?

All three are herbal liqueurs and are considered an aperitivo, aperitif and amaro. The latter being the word for ‘bitter’ in Italian. It took me a while to develop a taste for Campari as initially I found it too bitter. I learned to like Aperol much faster as it’s sweeter but I now find it to be a bit too sweet. In the spirit of Goldilocks, Select is just right – the perfect amount of sweetness and bitterness. Why has it taken me this long to start to enjoy Select?

Perhaps because it isn’t available in Pennsylvania. So we purchased a bottle at Christmas when we were in New Jersey visiting my sister and her family. There’s a great wine and liquor store in Chatham – USA Wine Traders Club – that we often visit to find things we can’t get at home. If you’re from that area, it’s the one with the larger than life Captain Morgan pirate statues outside the front of the store (it makes me smile when I see them). We promptly stored it in our liquor cabinet and forgot about it! But that’s okay as this is a better time of year for enjoying a spritz. 

The year before Ed and I were married, my parents hosted an exchange student from Venice, Italy. Lorenzo M and his parents came back to the states in 2014 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his time in the states. They brought my parents a bottle of Select which was created in Venice in 1920. Clearly my dad has been enjoying it a bit longer than I have. In fact, he sometimes substitutes it for Campari in an Old Pal (a variation of a Negroni which dad makes with Rye, Campari and Sweet Vermouth).

Select is a ruby red-colored aperitif made with thirty macerated botanicals, including rhubarb roots and juniper berries. Prosecco is preferred for this drink, but any sparkling wine will do. The garnish of choice for a Venetian Spritz is a whole green olive (such as Castelvetrano with pit or without). This may seem odd, but the saltiness of the olive adds an additional flavor to the sweet-bitter combo.

Our friend, Lisa R, turned us on to Navy Hill mixers a few years ago. In addition to their Club Soda (which we typically only use as a drink mixer), we also like their Tonic + Soda. Both are made with electrolytes which help keep you hydrated.

Some say that the Venetian Spritz is a more mature version of the Aperol Spritz and I just might agree with that.