Last Updated on January 16, 2023 by laurenpacek

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The Hugo Spritz is light, floral, bubbly, and totally refreshing. This Italian aperitivo is guaranteed to satisfy.

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.

Recommended tools

• A jigger, to measure your ingredients
• Cocktail muddler
• Large wine glasses

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

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The Recipe

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