The Hugo Spritz is light, floral, bubbly, and totally refreshing. This Italian aperitivo is guaranteed to satisfy.
If you're looking for more light and refreshing cocktails, check out my Limoncello Spritz, French 77, and Strawberry Mojitos!
Jump to:
- 🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- 💭 What is a Spritz cocktail?
- 💭 What is a Hugo Spritz?
- 📝 Ingredients
- 👩🏻🍳 How to make a Hugo Spritz
- 🔗 Other spritz recipes
- 🔗 Other recipes that use elderflower liqueur
- ❓ FAQs/Tips and tricks
- 🖤 Share your creations and follow me on social media!
- ✨ Recipe
- 📌 Pin this recipe for later!
🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's easy to make. A little muddling and pouring are all it takes to make a big refreshing glass of Hugo Spritz.
- It's sweet and refreshing. Thanks to the elderflower liqueur and bubbles, this drink is supremely floral and refreshing.
- It's the perfect warm weather sip. It's ideal for sipping on a patio during warm weather.
💭 What is a Spritz cocktail?
Spritz cocktails have their origins Northern Italy, where prosecco comes from. The spritz originated during the 1800s when Austrians, who were visiting Italy, would dilute Italian wines with a “spritz” (which is the German word for “splash”) of soda water to make them lighter and more suited to their tastes.
As time went on, wine became prosecco, and Italians started to supplement the drink with fortified wines, and then later liqueurs like bitter-sweet amari.
💭 What is a Hugo Spritz?
The Hugo Spritz was created in 2005 by Ronald Gruber as an alternative to the Aperol spritz, with elderflower syrup replacing the Aperol. Since elderflower syrup isn't as readily available in the US as it is in Europe, elderflower liqueur serves as a suitable substitute.
Fun fact: there is no Hugo. The name was chosen somewhat at random, with "Otto" being another potential name.
📝 Ingredients
This cocktail only requires FIVE ingredients (and one of those is purely a garnish). Let's walk through them all below.
- Elderflower liqueur: Elderflower liqueur is made from the flowers of the elderberry plant. It's light, sweet, and floral in taste. St. Germain is the most popular and widely-known brand. There are other brands; I've been using St. Elder.
- Mint: Fresh mint, please! During the summer, I like to snip some fresh mint from my herb garden. But during the colder months, I'll pick some up at the grocery store.
- Prosecco: Use whatever kind of prosecco floats your boat. I like something that's moderately dry. But you do you.
- Soda water: You can use club soda or sparkling water. I used some sparkling water that I had in my fridge.
- Lemon: This is optional, but a fresh lemon wheel makes for a nice garnish.
👩🏻🍳 How to make a Hugo Spritz
Start out by adding your elderflower liqueur and fresh mint leaves to the bottom of your glass. I like these big globe wine glasses for any kind of spritz cocktail.
Gently muddle the mint and liqueur. This will release the flavor of the mint into the cocktail.
After that, add the prosecco and soda water to the glass.
Next, add ice to the glass. I sometimes opt for crushed ice when making a spritz, but this bullet ice did the trick just fine.
Last, you'll want to garnish your drink with more fresh mint and a lemon wheel. Pro tip: give your mint a few gentle smacks against your hand before nestling it down into your drink. This will help to release the aroma of the mint.
🔗 Other spritz recipes
- Limoncello Spritz from A Nerd Cooks
- Aperol Spritz from Drinking Hobby
- Spritz Bianco from Little Sugar Snaps
- Negroni Sbagliato from A Grateful Meal
🔗 Other recipes that use elderflower liqueur
- French Gimlet from A Nerd Cooks
- Hummingbird Cocktail from Posh Little Designs
- French 77 from A Nerd Cooks
- St. Germain Spritz from Italian Food Fast
❓ FAQs/Tips and tricks
Elder flower liqueur is made from the flowers of the elderberry plant. It's sweet and floral in flavor. St. Germain is the most popular brand, but St. Elder is another option.
You could, but I'd recommend making these drinks one at a time.
There is no Hugo! The name was chosen somewhat at random. The "Otto" was one of the other candidate names for this drink, but the creator changed it to "Hugo."
🖤 Share your creations and follow me on social media!
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✨ Recipe
Hugo Spritz
Ingredients
- ½ ounce elderflower liqueur
- 7 fresh mint leaves
- 4 ounces prosecco
- 1 ounce soda water
- fresh mint sprig and lemon wheel for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Add the elderflower liqueur and fresh mint sprig to your glass. Muddle the mint gently.
- Add the prosecco and soda water to the glass. Add ice.
- Garnish with additional fresh mint and a lemon wheel.
Notes
- St. Germain is probably the best known brand of elderflower liqueur, but use whatever you can find/like.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.
📌 Pin this recipe for later!
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