Aperitivo Hour Is Summer 2026's Drink Ritual: How to Build a Spritz Bar (and 8 Bottles to Stock)
There is a reason every patio, rooftop and backyard this summer glows the same shade of sunset orange. Aperitivo hour — the Italian ritual of a light, bittersweet, low-proof drink before dinner — has become the defining way to drink in 2026. Bartenders polled for the season call the spritz one of the drinks of summer, and the trade press has a name for the broader movement: aperitivo 3.0, where bittersweet Italian classics have slipped out of their pre-dinner slot and into brunch, lunch, golden hour and casual dinners alike.
The appeal is obvious. Aperitivo drinks are refreshing, sessionable and forgiving — built from a few shelf-stable bottles, finished with bubbles and ice, and almost impossible to get wrong. Below is everything you need to build a spritz bar at home, plus the eight bottles we'd stock first.
The 8 bottles for your spritz bar
What "aperitivo" actually means
Aperitivo is less a recipe than a mood: a bittersweet, lightly alcoholic drink meant to wake up the appetite. The flavor backbone comes from bitter aperitivo liqueurs and vermouth — botanical, citrus-forward, gently bitter — stretched long with sparkling wine and soda so the whole thing lands around 8–11% ABV. That low-ABV math is exactly why the category is booming: you can have two and still make dinner.
The two bottles that anchor almost everything are Aperol ($33.99), the gentle, orange-and-rhubarb crowd-pleaser, and Campari ($39.99), its bolder, redder, more bitter sibling. Stock both and you can build most of the aperitivo canon. You'll find them and the rest of the bittersweet family in our Cordials & Liqueurs collection.
The Aperol Spritz, done right (3–2–1)
The official build is simple and worth memorizing: 3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Aperol, 1 part soda water, poured over plenty of ice in a big wine glass and garnished with an orange slice. The prosecco matters more than people think — you want something dry and properly sparkling, not flat and sweet. We reach for Bisol Prosecco Superiore Brut Crede ($24.99), a Valdobbiadene bottle with real backbone, or the reliably crisp Santa Margherita Prosecco Superiore ($27.99). Either one keeps the spritz lively to the last sip. Browse more bubbles in our Wine collection.
Pour prosecco first, then Aperol (so it doesn't sink and stay there), then a splash of soda, then ice. That order keeps the color even and the carbonation intact.
Going beyond Aperol
Once the Aperol Spritz is muscle memory, the fun begins. Swap Aperol for Campari and you've got a Campari Spritz — drier, more grown-up, the drink trend-watchers think could unseat Aperol as the aperitivo of choice. Pour Campari over ice and top with orange juice instead and you have a Garibaldi, the brunch-friendly sleeper of the season.
For something floral, the Hugo Spritz is having a huge year: St-Germain elderflower liqueur ($39.99) with prosecco, soda, fresh mint and lime is lighter and more aromatic than an Aperol Spritz, and it converts people who think they don't like bitter drinks. And if you want the whole thing in one bottle, Chandon Garden Spritz ($27.09) is a genuinely good ready-made — just pour over ice and add an orange slice.
The Negroni & Americano family
Aperitivo isn't only spritzes. The Americano — equal parts Campari and sweet vermouth, topped with soda — is the lowest-ABV way into the bitter end of the spectrum, and the Negroni (equal parts Campari, sweet vermouth and gin) is its stronger, stirred cousin. Both live or die on the vermouth. Carpano Antica Formula ($42.99) is the gold standard: rich, vanilla-edged and built for exactly this. We just gave the whole category its own home — see our Vermouth collection.
For the gin in your Negroni, a citrus-forward bottle plays beautifully against Campari's bitterness — Tanqueray Rangpur ($29.09) is a smart, affordable pick. Want options? We break down the full lineup in our Gin collection and in this week's World Gin Day gin guide.
Building a spritz bar for a party
The beauty of aperitivo is that it scales. Set out a bottle of Aperol, a bottle of Campari, two chilled proseccos, a bottle of soda, a bowl of ice and a plate of orange slices, and guests build their own. For a crowd, batch the non-bubbly parts ahead (Aperol or Campari pre-measured into glasses) and add prosecco and soda à la minute so nothing goes flat. We laid out the full batch math in our Memorial Day spritz bar guide — it works just as well for a June garden party.
Aperitivo also pairs naturally with the other low-ABV summer drinks we've been pouring: the whiskey highball and tequila Ranch Water both share the spritz's clean, sessionable logic, and our gin cocktail guide covers the stirred end of the spectrum.
Stock your aperitivo cart
You can build the entire ritual from a handful of bottles. Start with Aperol and Campari, add a dry prosecco like Bisol, a bottle of Carpano Antica for Negronis and Americanos, and St-Germain for Hugo Spritzes. Everything ships fast — explore the full bittersweet lineup in our Cordials & Liqueurs collection, the bubbles in our Wine collection, and our most-loved bottles in Best Sellers. Salute — it's aperitivo hour.
