Not Your Mother's Spritzers

May 21, 2012

 

We all cocktail stereotype: the lit professor sips smoky scotch, neat, the weathered novelist goes for whiskey - in a flask if home, a manhattan in a lowball glass at a bar. Sherry is reserved for grandmothers, post holiday meal, and the wine spritzer is relegated to the category of women - particularly in large groups - sharing a collective grief while listening to the weepy, vocal stylings of Melissa Manchester.

Rosie Schaap, of The New York Times, explains how she, like many of us, came to regard the wine spritzer as the official cocktail of ‘ladies who lunch.’

I’m going to debunk this stereotype, if only slightly, in defense of anyone who has ever had a sip of a wine spritzer, and liked it. (Myself included.) As the weather gets warmer, our drinks (yes, wine too) need a change. And since bubbles and ice go particularly well with extreme heat, here are some new drink ideas for wine lovers who don’t want to box themselves in with that familiar cocktail. Lillet and cognac? Moscato and campari? These aren’t your mother’s spritzers.

It’s Time to Update the Wine Spritzer from NY Times

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Kenzi Wilbur
    Kenzi Wilbur
  • Amanda Hesser
    Amanda Hesser
  • Nozlee Samadzadeh
    Nozlee Samadzadeh
Kenzi Wilbur

Written by: Kenzi Wilbur

I have a thing for most foods topped with a fried egg, a strange disdain for overly soupy tomato sauce, and I can never make it home without ripping off the end of a newly-bought baguette. I like spoons very much.

3 Comments

Kenzi W. May 21, 2012
Blanc! And grapefruit bitters! And preserved lemon syrup! It's on my list for this weekend, to be consumed on the roof of my apartment building.
 
Amanda H. May 21, 2012
I made a Lillet and rhubarb bitters cocktail inspired by this article yesterday. Drinks out on the deck; kids playing and a baby was passed around. Almost felt like the 70s, except no cigarette smoke.
 
Nozlee S. May 21, 2012
Wow! Lillet blanc or rouge? That sounds amazing.