Spritz

Starred review from March 1, 2016

Coauthors Baiocchi and Pariseau, managing editors of the lively online drinks magazine Punch, present this attractive book on Italy's iconic sparkling aperitivo, locating its origins--and its spirit--in the concept of sprezzatura: an untranslatable spirit of "effortless grace" that dates back to the 16th century. Traveling to Italy, they trace the history and the modern incarnations of this lightweight, bittersweet drink--which has evolved far beyond the bland white wine spritzer so beloved of dieting moms in the 1980s. Since the mid-2000s, the bright-orange aperitivo Aperol, first introduced in 1919, has driven a global renaissance of the spritz with a blend of its secret-recipe liqueur, Prosecco, and sparkling water--a beverage almost as easy to mix as to sip. Yet as the range of recipes included here shows, there's more to the spritz than bitter and bubbles: mixologists from the United States have embraced the libation's lightness and added complexity to its composition with ingredients such as rum, sherry, and fresh juices. The story of the spritz is a fascinating one, featuring inventive upstart bartenders who concocted the blends that became Campari and Martini & Rossi, and touching on the roles played by imperialism, migration, and marketing in popularizing the drink. VERDICT Like the spritz itself, this book is a stylish, refreshing, and perfectly balanced indulgence.--Joanna Scutts, Astoria, NY

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