Culinary travel goes Zoom: PASS an aperitivo - Travel Weekly

If you’ve got an older bottle of Aperol laying around, it might have the “3-2-1” recipe for an Aperol spritz on the back of the bottle. Toss it (the recipe, not the booze).

The perfect Aperol spritz today is made using the PASS method: prosecco, Aperol, soda, slice. Fill a wine or balloon glass with ice, then pour in prosecco and an equal part of Aperol. Finish with a splash of soda water (seltzer or mineral is fine) and a slice of orange, and you’ve got the perfect spritz.

Travel Weekly senior editor Jamie Biesiada walks managing editor Rebecca Tobin through the proper steps of making an Aperol spritz.

It’s a simple but refreshing cocktail. I learned how to make it the right way during the recent Future Leaders in Travel Retreat, organized by sister publication TravelAge West, in a session with Daniel Warrilow, the Italian portfolio ambassador for Campari, and Jennifer Chaplin Tolkin, vice president of Aperol strategy at alcohol distributor Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits. Campari acquired Aperol in 2003.

Warrilow took us through the proper preparation of a spritz and typical snacks to accompany it. Together, they reflected the Italian tradition of aperitivo, which takes place in the afternoon around 3, 4 or 5 p.m.

The perfect Aperol spritz, concocted using the PASS method: prosecco, Aperol, soda and a slice (of orange). (TW photo by Jamie Biesiada)

The perfect Aperol spritz, concocted using the PASS method: prosecco, Aperol, soda and a slice (of orange). (TW photo by Jamie Biesiada)

“If you’re enjoying aperitivo, you always have food and you always have a drink,” Warrilow said. “The idea is very dissimilar from happy hour. Even though it’s kind of at the same time, happy hour is this idea of the end of your day, whereas aperitivo is more like the beginning of your night. It’s really to celebrate friends and family, to enjoy that time.”

Snacks like olives, taralli, peppadews, cured meats and cheeses often accompany the spritz at aperitivo. Things from the same region in Italy are often paired, Warrilow said, because generally, “What grows together, goes together.”

An Aperol Spritz with an accompanying cheese board featuring parmigiano reggiano, olives and taralli. (TW photo by Jamie Biesiada)

An Aperol Spritz with an accompanying cheese board featuring parmigiano reggiano, olives and taralli. (TW photo by Jamie Biesiada)

The session at Future Leaders wasn’t just intended as a nice way to unwind after a day of learning, though it did have that happy effect. It was also designed to mimic a virtual session travel advisors could host for clients: Walk them through making a spritz, encourage them to prepare snacks and talk about future travel to Italy.

Part of Warrilow and Tolkin’s jobs are education about the perfect way to make a spritz, whether they’re talking to consumers, restaurants or bartenders. Thus, they were quick to dismiss the 3-2-1 version of the spritz recipe one attendee said was on the back of her bottle.

The perfect Aperol spritz, concocted using the PASS method: prosecco, Aperol, soda and a slice (of orange).

The perfect Aperol spritz, concocted using the PASS method: prosecco, Aperol, soda and a slice (of orange).

When Campari first brought Aperol to America in 2006, the 3-2-1 recipe was still recommended — three parts prosecco, two parts Aperol and one splash of soda water. But the company ran taste tests, and the PASS method-prepared spritz won.

“We found that this was actually the perfect recipe,” Warrilow said, “and this is what people responded to the most.”