Elderflower Spritz
Build ∙ 2 min ∙ 9.6% ABV ∙
A build-style highball of white wine, elderflower liqueur, and soda water, the Elderflower Spritz is a low-ABV, wine-based spritz served over ice. Floral and honeyed up front, the wine's crisp acidity keeps it from turning cloying, and the soda finishes it light and fizzy — an easy afternoon sipper.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Pour the ingredients into the ice-filled glass: White wine 60 mlElderflower liqueur 45 ml
- Stir gently
- Top with Soda water (or Champagne)
- Stir gently again
- Garnish with a lime wheel
Tips
- Give the drink one light stir with a bar spoon after adding the soda, just enough to combine it without losing the fizz.
- Add the soda water last and pour it gently down the side of the glass to preserve its carbonation instead of stirring vigorously.
- Chill the wine, liqueur, and soda water in advance so the build stays cold without needing extra stirring after combining.
History
The Elderflower Spritz was created by a British drinks writer after the French liqueur St-Germain launched in the United Kingdom in 2007. The brand asked him to develop a launch cocktail, and he paired the new elderflower liqueur with soda water and a still white wine, originally Sauvignon Blanc, to highlight the liqueur's fruit, floral, and mineral notes; he named the drink the Elderflower Spritz. This built on the earlier Hugo Spritz, created in 2005 by bartender Roland Gruber in Naturno, in the South Tyrol region of northern Italy, who mixed Prosecco with soda water, mint, and a lemon balm syrup as an alternative to the classic Aperol-based spritz; that syrup was later swapped for elderflower syrup or liqueur once St-Germain became available. The Elderflower Spritz and the elderflower-updated Hugo Spritz are considered parallel, near-simultaneous inventions rather than one descending from the other.
