Nonalcoholic Aperol Spritz

This Nonalcoholic Aperol Spritz delivers that bittersweet orange flavor, herbaceous effervescence, and glassy orange hue that you would expect of a traditional Aperol Spritz, but without any alcohol! Requiring no speciality ingredients, this can be made using simple and affordable ingredients from your local grocery story.

Is there anything more “Quintessential Italian Summer” than an Aperol Spritz? If there is, I’m not aware of it! While you can surely find lots of takes on a traditional aperol spritz, this is a recipe for a Nonalcoholic Aperol Spritz.

This Nonalcoholic Aperol Spritz uses items that should be available at your local grocery store. While there are nonalcoholic versions of aperol liqueur on the market, I wanted to challenge myself to come up with an affordable alternative that could be easily created without specialty ingredients.

And friends, after lots of trial and error I have done it!

The secret is an orange rind simple syrup that is easy to make, and provides perfect bittersweet notes to this drink.

After it’s made, the simple syrup is mixed with soda water and ice. It’s finished off with an orange slice garnish and the Nonalcoholic Aperol Spritz is ready for drinking!

A note on the soda water: Part of what makes an Aperol Spritz so enjoyable is that ultra-bubbly sensation that the Prosecco provides. Since we’re not using Prosecco here, I recommend using an extra bubbly sparkling water in this Nonalcoholic Aperol Spritz. You could use something like Topo Chico, or if you have a water-carbonating tool you can add some extra CO2 to the water so it’s very bubbly! Also, be sure to add the sparkling water at the last minute so it’s as carbonated as possible.

Orange Rind Simple Syrup

In order to get that distinctly bitter flavor that Aperol is known for, this recipe calls for an homemade orange rind simple syrup.

What is simple syrup?

Simple syrup is a one-to-one mixture of water and granulated sugar. Typically, the sugar is dissolved in boiling water and the result is a thickened, sweet water.

In this case, the recipe calls for the addition of some citrus peels for their bitter notes. The white part of the rind, formally known as the pith, has distinctly bitter notes that flavor this simple syrup.

Once you make batch of this orange rind simple syrup, you can use it in mocktails, cocktails, or even served over a vanilla ice cream for a unique sweet, creamy, slight bitter, orangey treat!

A note on the color

I searched around for a natural option to get that glassy orange hue associated with traditional aperol, but ended up landing on a mixture of some red and yellow gel food coloring. If you’re food coloring averse, feel free to leave it out. The simple syrup is a nice orange hue without it, but if you’re going for that lively orange hue, it seems to be the best option.

Nonalcoholic Aperol Spritz, Step by Step

Make the Orange Rind Simple Syrup

Gather your ingredients. You’ll need 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup water, 1 medium orange, and 1 medium grapefruit.

Halve the orange and grapefruit.

Add the sugar and water into a medium saucepan. Stir gently to mix. Add the halved orange and grapefruit to the sugar water mixture, cut side down.

Turn the heat to medium, cover, and bring the mixture to a bare simmer.

Once the mixture is simmering, add a rosemary sprig. This helps to mimic the herbaceous notes found in traditional aperol.

Once the mixture has been simmering for 15 minutes, lightly mash the orange and grapefruit halves using a wooden spoon. This helps to release both the juice and flavor from the peel into the simple syrup.

Cover and let the mixture barely simmer for another 15-20 minutes. The time is necessary here to let the bitter peel flavors release into the water. You’ll notice that the citrus will break down and become softer in the water.

After it’s done simmering, turn off the heat, remove the citrus halves and rosemary. Take care to squeeze out any remaining simple syrup clinging to the orange and grapefruit halves.

Strain the Orange Peel Simple Syrup into a clean jar for storage. Add a few drops of red and yellow gel food coloring if desired. While the orange peel simple syrup is a nice orange on it’s own, adding food colors helps to make the final drink look ver similar to a traditional Aperol Spritz.

Let the orange rind simple syrup cool slightly before adding it to the final drink

Nonalcoholic Aperol Spritz, Step by Step

Fill a glass with ice and add 2 oz orange rind simple syrup and 4 oz soda water. Gently stir to combine.

Garnish with an orange slice, and enjoy!