Cooking with Crosby Roamann: Midsummer Cocktails — The Hugo Spritz

Sean W. McBride Cooking with Crosby Roamann

At the beginning of every summer we adopt a cocktail and it turns into our drink of choice for the rest of the summer. This year our … ahem, friends … brought back this Hugo Spritz cocktail from the isles of Greece and Croatia and our family readily adopted it. We use La Croix sparkling waters for the club soda, because that’s what we readily have available in the fridge. And we choose a generic, $14-ish bottle of Prosecco as the base, and it hasn’t seemed to effect the quality of the cocktail much at all, not that we would have noticed, to be honest. The Hugo Spritz is a fun, easy-to-drink apéritif for all summer.

To make a refreshing Hugo Spritz, combine 3 to 4 ounces of chilled Prosecco, 1.5 to 2 ounces of St-Germain elderflower liqueur, a splash of club soda, fresh mint leaves, and a lime wheel over ice. Stir gently and serve cold.

Ingredients

  • Prosecco: 3 to 4 oz (chilled)
  • Elderflower Liqueur (St-Germain): 2 oz
  • Club Soda or Seltzer: 1 to 2 oz (chilled)
  • Fresh Mint: 5 to 8 leaves
  • Lime: 2 or 3 slices or a lime wheel
  • Ice: Plenty of ice cubes

Instructions

  • Prep Mint: Place fresh mint leaves into a large wine glass. Gently press them with a spoon or lightly slap them in your hands to release the oils.
  • Add Ice: Fill the glass to the top with ice cubes.
  • Pour Liqueur: Pour in the elderflower liqueur.
  • Add Bubbly: Pour in the chilled Prosecco and top with club soda.
  • Stir and Garnish: Stir gently and add lime wheels

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