Celebrate Summer with the Hugo Spritz
The Hugo Spritz, made with the beloved French St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur in replacement of a traditional Italian bitter or sour liqueur, was created by local bartender Roland Gruber. There were several iterations as Gruber searched for a liqueur to use that wasn’t bitter; one early iteration featured a lemon balm liqueur until in 2007 when St-Germain was released, and Gruber swapped the lemon balm liqueur for this new elderflower liqueur.
St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur is made with fresh elderflowers, hand-picked once a year in the late spring. The brand states they include up to 1,000 of the very best elderflower blossoms in every bottle. Made by a third-generation French distiller, St-Germain was the world’s first Elderflower liqueur and was inspired by Paris and its iconic quarter, St-Germain-des-Prés.
Although the new Spritz gained popularity in Europe, it took some time to catch on in the U.S. Some bar professionals argue that the missing bitter element holds back the Hugo Spritz’s dominance, while others point to the powerhouse of marketing from the Campari Group, which own Aperol. Whatever the case, the Hugo Spritz is a delicious drink to add to your Spritz rotation and an excellent choice for those who love a good Spritz but don’t care for bitter flavors.
Building a Hugo Spritz
When the Aperol Spritz craze hit the U.S., I recall learning that the Prosecco should always be added to the glass first, acting as a pillow for all other ingredients to rest on. I love a good ritual, and one that has sense and tradition behind it thrills me. This method became biblical to me when I began to build a Spritz for guests. The official Hugo Spritz recipe from St-Germain does not build the cocktail in this format, as the density of St-Germain liqueur is quite different from Aperol. So choose whichever build you feel comfortable with. When polling several mixologists, I found their reactions were split; half built the Hugo Spritz with Prosecco first, and the other half followed St-Germain’s instructions.
One of the most essential ingredients in building a delicious Hugo Spritz is the addition of fresh mint, which creates an aromatic bouquet along with the floral notes in St-Germain, an incredible addition. You will find many recipes adding cucumbers or lime to this Spritz. The St-Germain brand recipe includes a lime garnish, but I do not. I remain a purist with the hint leading the aroma charge. You will also find a variety of recipes with different measurements of Elderflower liqueur, which can create confusion. Some recipes call for 1.5 ounces. In contrast, others call for only 2/3 of an ounce. The more Elderflower liqueur, the sweeter the drink will be and the more floral aromatics you will experience. I believe that the dry Prosecco and soda water do enough to balance the sweetness, so I follow the St-Germain brand recipe in that regard.
Hugo Spritz
1.5 oz St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur
2 oz chilled dry prosecco
2 oz chilled soda water
8-10 mint leaves
In a large wine glass fill halfway with cubed ice, add prosecco, then St-Germain and soda water. Stir gently. Then gently slap the mint leaves on your hand 2-3 times to activate the oils, careful not to break or crush the leaves. Add the mint leaves at the end.
Hugo Rosé Spritz
This is an excellent variation on the Hugo Spritz, adding a touch of sweetness to the mix without overwhelming the floral flavors. With the addition of rosé wine or as a replacement for the prosecco, you’ll experience a definitive adjustment in flavors. Not only does rosé bring sweetness to this cocktail, but it also adds fruit flavors and aroma to the bouquet. When building this rosé version, I swapped sparkling rosé for the Prosecco; adding a fruit-forward rosé really adds a great deal of interest and complexity to this Spritz.
1.5 oz St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur
2 oz chilled sparkling sparkling rosé
2 oz soda water
8-10 mint leaves
In a large wine glass fill halfway with cubed ice. Add rosé, then St-Germain and soda water. Stir gently. Then gently slap the mint leaves on our hand 2-3 times to activate the oils, careful not to break or crush the leaves. Add the mint leaves at the end.
The Provence Paloma
For a more spirited elderflower Spritz, the addition of a blanco tequila gives this cocktail a Paloma twist for a warm summer day. Build this cocktail in a wine glass, and it’s instantly a spritz variation that will win over all of your tequila-loving friends. In this recipe, The Lost Explorer Tequila Blanco is a favorite option due to its herbaceous and citrus-forward profile, which brings intrigue and doubles down on complexity, yet it remains light and refreshing. This Paloma Spritz is the kind of drink people write poems about.
1 oz St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur
.5 oz The Lost Explorer Tequila Blanco
1.5 oz chilled sparkling sparkling rosé
3 oz chilled grapefruit soda
In a large wine glass fill halfway with cubed ice. Add rosé, St-Germain tequila and grapefruit soda, Stir gently. Garnish with fresh lime slices.
Enjoy these refreshing variations and Spritz all summer long!
St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur – $28 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
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