Ingredients
A secret infusion built around bitter and sweet orange, rhubarb, gentian and cinchona bark, sweetened heavily and colored a fluorescent orange. At 11% ABV it is roughly half the strength of Campari and considerably sweeter, which is exactly why it carries a spritz without flattening it.
- ✦Bitter orange
- ✦Sweet orange
- ✦Rhubarb
- ✦Gentian root
- ✦Cinchona bark
- ✦Vanilla
- ✦Herbs and roots (undisclosed)
History of the Brand
Luigi and Silvio Barbieri launched Aperol at the 1919 Padua International Fair, seven years after inheriting their father's liqueur business. The name comes from the Venetian dialect word for aperitivo.
It was pitched from the start as a low-alcohol drink for a new, lighter kind of drinking — advertised at Italian sporting events and marketed heavily to women at a time when most bitters were sold as digestive medicine.
The Aperol Spritz, prosecco and soda over the aperitivo, spread from the Veneto in the post-war decades and became the brand's whole identity.
Barbieri was acquired by Campari Group in 2003, which pushed the spritz worldwide. Aperol is now one of the best-selling spirits brands on earth, and the reason most people outside Italy know what an aperitivo is.
Tasting Characteristics
Candied orange peel, tangerine, a little rhubarb and vanilla.
Sweet orange and apricot up front, then a soft rhubarb-and-gentian bitterness that stays in the background.
Short and clean, faintly bitter, with orange-zest oil lingering.
Flavor meter
How to serve it
- 01The Spritz: 3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Aperol, 1 splash of soda, big ice, orange slice.
- 02Over ice with soda water alone for something drier and even lower in alcohol.
- 03Split-base with Campari in a Negroni to soften the bitterness without losing structure.
- 04With grapefruit soda for a lighter Paloma-style aperitivo.
- 05Topped with tonic and a rosemary sprig for a herbal twist.
Where to Get It
Stocked in essentially every liquor store and supermarket that sells spirits, worldwide. There is no scarcity and no reason to overpay.
Supermarkets
Where licensing allows, usually the cheapest at $20–$24.
Liquor stores
Universal. Larger 1L bottles are often better value for spritz season.
Online retailers
Frequently bundled with prosecco in spritz kits.
Affiliate buying links coming soon.
Aperol FAQ
What is Aperol?
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A bitter Italian aperitivo created in Padua in 1919, made from bitter orange, rhubarb, gentian and cinchona and bottled at 11% ABV. It is the base of the Aperol Spritz.
What is the difference between Aperol and Campari?
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Aperol is 11% ABV, sweeter, orange-driven and only lightly bitter. Campari is 20-28% depending on market, much more bitter and more herbal. They are not interchangeable, though a half-and-half split works well in a Negroni.
What does Aperol taste like?
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Candied orange and apricot with a gentle rhubarb bitterness underneath, finishing short and clean. It is one of the sweetest bitters in the category.
What is the correct Aperol Spritz ratio?
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The classic is 3-2-1: three parts prosecco, two parts Aperol, one splash of soda, built over plenty of ice with an orange slice.
Does Aperol need to be refrigerated after opening?
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No. Its sugar and alcohol keep it stable for a year or more at room temperature, though chilling it makes for a faster spritz.