The Spritz has always been this good
Picture this: it’s sometime between 5 and 7 PM, when the day hasn't quite let go yet but you've mentally checked out. The air is warm, the light is getting golden, and what you want isn't a full cocktail… but isn't a glass of water. Something that says: the work is done, and this moment is mine. That drink has a name. It's had the same name for about 200 years.
It started with soldiers who didn’t want wine.
The spritz was born in Veneto, the northeastern Italian region, during the early 19th century when the area was under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Stationed Austrian soldiers found the local wines — deep, full-bodied, and high in alcohol by their standards — a little much for the afternoon heat. Their solution was straightforward: splash some water into the glass to lighten things up.
The word comes from the German word spritzen, meaning, to spray or splash. It was a fix, not a recipe. But it caught on.
Over the decades that followed, Italians picked up the habit and made it their own. Still wine gave way to sparkling wine. Fortified bitters and amari entered the picture. By the time Aperol arrived on the scene in 1919, the spritz had a shape: bubbles, bitterness, citrus, a big ice cube, an orange slice, and a conversation worth having.
How it took over the world
The Aperol Spritz existed happily in Italian piazzas for decades before the rest of the world caught up.
The Campari Group, which acquired Aperol in 2003, codified the now-famous 3-2-1 recipe: three parts Prosecco, two parts Aperol, one part soda water. They built a campaign around the aperitivo ritual: the Italian tradition of an end-of-day drink with friends and a little something to eat, positioned as a sociable, lighter alternative to a heavier night out.
In the U.S., the tipping point came around 2018. Free drinks in the Hamptons, summer festival options, and a New York Times piece calling it “the drink of the season” all contributed to a run of growth that hasn't really stopped since. By that year, Aperol sales in the U.S. were up nearly 50 percent.
The drink landed so hard because it arrived at exactly the right moment. A generation of drinkers who had been trained to appreciate complexity by craft beer, natural wine, and single-origin coffee was suddenly very open to something bitter, fizzy, and light.
The spritz is bigger than one recipe
Here's the thing that often gets lost in the Aperol conversation: the spritz was never just one drink.
The Hugo Spritz, popular in Austria and northern Italy, uses elderflower syrup, prosecco, soda, and fresh mint — floral and delicate where the Aperol version is citrusy and bitter. The Sbagliato swaps spirits for sparkling wine entirely.
Which brings us to right now, where the most exciting thing happening in spritz culture is that you no longer need alcohol to participate in it.
The non-alcoholic spritz has arrived
The spritz, it turns out, was always better suited for the non-alcoholic world than almost any other cocktail. The reason is simple: what makes a spritz great isn't the alcohol. It's the bitterness, the bubbles, the citrus, and the occasion. Those things don't need alcohol to exist. They need good ingredients and a little craft.
The NA spritz space has matured fast, and the options we carry at The Zero Proof prove it. Here are a few of our favorites.
NA Spritz Cocktail Kit is everything you need to build the perfect non-alcoholic spritz at home: Lapo's bittersweet, all-natural Aperitivo paired with Oddbird's smooth, creamy, award-winning Blanc de Blancs. Together they make a perfectly balanced spritz — bittersweet, effervescent, and best in hand during golden hour at a full table.
ISH Non-Alcoholic Spritz is the closest thing to cracking open an Aperol Spritz without the alcohol. Bittersweet orange, woodsy herbs, a touch of vanilla — drink it straight from a chilled can or pour it over ice with an orange slice. Italian Riviera in a can, no passport required.
Lapo's Non-Alcoholic Limoncello Spritz is a limoncello-inspired ode to the sun-soaked coast of Italy: bright lemon layered with orange blossom, rosemary, and thyme, lifted with a gentle sparkle. Bright, herbaceous, and just sweet enough to take the edge off. This one comes from Lapo's, our own non-alcoholic Italian aperitif brand. Drink it chilled from the can or over ice with a fresh sprig of rosemary, just as Lapo would have it.
Ghia Le Spritz Lime & Salt goes a different direction entirely: crisp, citrus-forward, with bitter orange, zesty lime, and a hit of sea salt that makes it feel like you're somewhere near the coast. Completely alcohol-free.
Lyre's Amalfi Spritz leans into the Italian coastal fantasy with bittersweet orange, rich peach, rhubarb, and elderflower. The bubbles are fine and persistent, the finish is dry and refreshing. It's one of the most sophisticated canned NA options we stock.
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The through-line across two centuries is that the spritz was never really about what was in the glass. It was about the pause — that stretch between the day's end and the evening's start when you decide the work is done and the moment is yours. Austrian soldiers wanted it lighter, Italians turned it into a ritual, and a generation raised on bitter, complex flavors made it a phenomenon. And now, finally, none of it depends on the alcohol. The bitterness is still here. So are the bubbles, the citrus, the orange peel, and the golden hour. Pour one over ice, find a table worth lingering at, and enjoy it exactly as it was always meant to be — slowly, and in good company. The spritz has always been this good.
