A glass catches the late-afternoon light—rosy, effervescent, bittersweet. It looks like a Paper Plane in flight but feels lighter, brighter, and built for golden-hour terraces. The Paper Plane Spritz is the natural evolution of a modern classic: the cocktail that shook the world in 2007 now reimagined through the lens of today’s aperitivo culture. This spritz preserves the Paper Plane’s DNA—bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon—while lifting it with sparkling wine into an

A chilled coupe glass glints with a pale sunset hue—rye whiskey lending backbone, vermouth adding dry aromatics, citrus brightening the edges, and grenadine pulling each note into harmony. The first sip is tart, lean, and slightly spicy; the second is richer, more layered, and distinctly 1920s. The Scofflaw may look delicate, but its story is anything but. Born not in America, but in Paris , and named after an insult directed at American drinkers, this cocktail captures the a

There are cocktails born of precision—and others that emerge from creative tension. The Boulevardier Spritz belongs to the second category: a sparkling, lighter interpretation of one of the great whiskey classics. It takes the bourbon-rich, bittersweet gravity of the Boulevardier and lifts it into an effervescent, aperitivo-lengthened format. The result is a cocktail that bridges Parisian café culture, American whiskey heritage, and modern spritz sensibilities—light enough f

The Bicicletta is one of Italy’s most charmingly simple aperitivo cocktails—and one of its most misunderstood. Built on just three ingredients (bitter aperitivo, white wine, soda water), the Bicicletta is older than the Aperol Spritz, more rustic than the Americano, and deeply tied to Northern Italy’s café and cycling culture. It’s the drink you’d find in a sleepy Lombard village at golden hour: refreshing, subtly bitter, and relaxed in a way that only truly local cocktails

Light, floral, effervescent, and breezy, the Hugo Spritz is one of Europe’s most quietly charming modern cocktails. Born not in Venice or Milan—but high in the Alpine villages of South Tyrol—the Hugo Spritz is a celebration of mountain summer, elderflower blossoms, crisp sparkling wine, and fresh mint. It is the softest member of the spritz family, designed not for grandeur but for comfort: a gentle, fragrant aperitivo rooted in place, season, and simplicity. I. Origins A Sp

The Cappelletti Spritz is the aperitivo lover’s aperitivo—the deeper-cut, locally adored, quietly sophisticated sibling of the global Aperol Spritz. Built on the Alpine-meets-Venetian heritage of Cappelletti Aperitivo (aka Aperitivo Cappelletti , Cappelletti Red , or simply “the red bottle with the horse” ), this spritz is rooted in Northern Italian culture, regional winemaking, and the revival of traditional aperitivi that predate many modern brands. Rustic, herbal, wine-ba

Few cocktails capture a place the way the Venetian Spritz does. Light, sparkling, herbal, and sunlit, it is the distilled essence of Venice itself—its lagoons, its lazy afternoon rituals, its centuries-old café culture, and its unmistakable bitters. Before the modern Aperol Spritz became a global sensation, the Venetian Spritz was already the drink of locals, students, gondoliers, and café regulars who gathered in bàcari and piazzas for ombre (small glasses of wine) and cicc

Some cocktails feel as old as café culture itself. The Americano —bittersweet, bubbly, effortlessly relaxed—is one of them. It’s a drink that predates the Negroni, helped shape the spritz, and defined Italian aperitivo long before the world learned the word aperitivo . Refreshing yet complex, low-ABV yet deeply flavorful, the Americano is a timeless ritual in a glass. I. Origins Before It Was the Americano, It Was the Milano–Torino The story of the Americano begins in the la

Some cocktails are born from precision; others from beautiful accidents. The Negroni Sbagliato —most often shortened simply to the Sbagliato —belongs firmly to the latter. A mistaken pour of sparkling wine instead of gin created one of Italy’s most effortless and iconic aperitivo cocktails. Herbaceous, bubbly, bittersweet, and irresistibly drinkable, the Sbagliato has become a global favorite not only for its flavor but for the way it captures aperitivo culture at its most pl

Italian aperitivo culture has always been a dance between bitterness and sunshine. The Amaro Spritz takes that balance and enriches it—deepening the herbal backbone, brightening the effervescence, and modernizing a centuries-old drinking ritual. If the Aperol Spritz is the global gateway and the Negroni Sbagliato is the dramatic cousin, the Amaro Spritz is the connoisseur’s choice: layered, herbal, quietly complex, and endlessly refreshing. Part garden, part apothecary, part

If sunshine had a signature drink, it would be the Limoncello Spritz —bright, sparkling, citrus-soaked, and effortlessly joyful. It’s the kind of cocktail that feels like an afternoon on the Amalfi Coast: lemon trees glowing on terraced hillsides, sea breeze drifting through narrow stone streets, and the unmistakable aroma of fresh citrus oils dancing in the air. The Limoncello Spritz takes Italy’s iconic lemon liqueur—rich with zest, sweetness, and southern Italian heritage—

It’s golden hour in Venice. The canals shimmer, cicchetti clatter on platters, and glasses glow in the fading sun—radiant orange, effervescent, inviting. That glow is the Aperol Spritz , a drink that’s less a cocktail and more a lifestyle: light, bubbly, bittersweet, and unmistakably Italian. From its roots in Habsburg-era wine spritzes to its global fame as a terrace icon, the Aperol Spritz embodies the art of aperitivo : the unhurried pause between day and evening when conv