The winter holidays might steal the spotlight as the season for sparkling wine, but we firmly believe that summer is where it’s at. (That said, there’s no wrong time of year to open a bottle of bubbly, if you ask us!) When the temperatures rise and we’re spending more time than usual in the sun (slathered in SPF, of course), we don’t crave a heavy IPA, potent bourbon-based cocktail, or powerful red wine. Instead, we find ourselves gravitating toward lower-ABV, ultra-refreshing (and hydrating!) spritzes.
In May, we predicted that the Hugo spritz would be 2023’s cocktail of summer, and we still stand by that assertion. Since then, we’ve seen several popular bloggers and other websites follow suit by releasing their own Hugo spritz recipes and have spied Hugos on more menus than ever before stateside.
While we still adore that minty, floral twist on the spritz, we’ll always have a sweet spot for the most popular spritz cocktail: Aperol spritz. It’s a bar menu mainstay in its home country of Italy and around the globe for good reason. With a lovely balance of bitter (via Aperol, a bitter orange and herbaceous Italian apéritif), sweet-tart (thanks to orange slices and sparkling wine), and bubbly (due to the club soda and prosecco or your preferred fizzy vino), Aperol spritzes are balanced, light, and as easy to stir together as they are to enjoy.
However, if you’re approaching the territory of being “spritzed out”—or are seeking an even cooler variation on the theme—we found a solution in a buzzy how-to video that’s taking over Instagram.
The Secret Ingredient Is ... Frozen Fruit
Nicole Keshishian Modic, creator of Kale Junkie and author of Love to Eat, and her friend and fellow food blogger and social media personality Olivia Adriance dreamed up this frozen drink recipe that dresses up the Aperol spritz with a little frozen fruit magic.
“This is the perfect refreshing drink to make with your girlfriends this summer,” the duo explains in the caption for their cocktail recipe how-to video.
In addition to being sold on the easy and sweet single-ingredient boost, we also adore that this Aperol spritz upgrade yields only two servings, so we won’t be left with loads of leftovers after enjoying our Champagne cocktail.
We’ll let you in on the secret ingredient: frozen fruit. Keshishian Modic and Adriance recommend frozen strawberries, but this same concept would also be amazing with frozen blueberries, frozen pineapple, frozen cherries, or frozen peaches (the latter would be an icy riff on our popular peach Aperol punch).
How to Make Frozen Strawberry Aperol Spritz
To recreate their original frozen Aperol spritz recipe, put 2 cups of frozen strawberries in a blender. Add the lid and blend until smooth. Remove the lid and add 6 ounces of Aperol, 2 ounces of sparkling wine (prosecco, cava, Champagne, or pét-nat; take your pick), 2 ounces club soda, the juice from half to one orange, and 2 cups of ice. Blend once more until the mixture is combined evenly and slushy-like in consistency.
Pour the frozen strawberry Aperol spritz mixture into two glasses, garnish each with an orange slice, and enjoy.
The Surprise Nutrition Boost
A cocktail recipe is never going to fall under the umbrella of “health elixir,” true. However, this one comes with a little nutrition boost. Beyond being delicious, each serving includes 1 cup of frozen strawberries, which delivers 60% of your daily value of immune-supporting vitamin C and three grams of gut health-bolstering fiber.
Our next prediction? You’ll be making this easy low-alcohol cocktail recipe on repeat, and we’ll be right there with you. Once you’ve given this frozen strawberry (or peach, pineapple, cherry, or blueberry) Aperol spritz a shot, don’t miss these 11 fun spirit-free drink recipes and these 32 refreshing summer drink ideas.