FOR Ava Djamshidi
“How tasty is this pretty drink. With its sparkle and delicate orange nuances, it is nevertheless the archetype of the drink that snobs love to hate. In defiance of its unique taste qualities and its resolutely European history. Born in Veneto in the mid-19th century under the influence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, this cocktail reached its current form in the early 1900s, sublimated by exquisite orange peel decoctions. “Seen and reviewed,” sigh the trendy people with the air of a condescending llama. Dear reader, we must forgive them: they do not know the comfort that familiar flavors provide. “Too sweet,” sulk the sylphs, less concerned about the caloric content of a mojito (160 kcal) or a caipirinha (150) compared to 120 energy units (and pleasure) for the spritz.
And this calculation does not take into account the happiness in pronouncing this word (we say spritsse, not chpritsse), syllables thrown to the wind, like the promise of tomorrows without hangovers. This cocktail also conceals a mystery: the quality of its components (special mention for champagne instead of prosecco), their balance and their dosage… Or how to make this good old spritz a comforting mixture, or even turn it into a sublime potion.
AGAINST Ilaria Casati
“What has flooded the terraces of France and Navarre with its neon orange color? What causes headaches and stomach aches? What threatens the planet through overconsumption? The spritz. There is no point in denying it. In 2018, the “New York Times” already wrote “The Aperol Spritz is not a good drink”. Journalist Rebekah Peppler put her foot in the cup: “On paper, it is not fundamentally bad. It is effervescent, icy and of an orange hue that would rival a sunset in “Planet Earth”.
But more often than not, this aperitif is prepared with poor quality prosecco, sparkling water and a huge slice of orange.” The result is drunk at best like a Capri-Sun after football training, at worst like a kalimotxo at an Erasmus party. Let’s face it: as Instagram-friendly as it may be, this beverage is a guarantee of regrets the next morning. Not only does it knock us out with a horrible hangover, which no brunch at McDonald’s could get rid of, but it also weighs on our ecological conscience.
Not convinced? According to the inhabitants of Veneto, the mass production of sparkling wine would promote soil erosion, cause a loss of biodiversity and an overuse of pesticides. And what if, finally, the spritz was the worst drink of the summer?
