Aperol Spritz

Before summer comes to a close, I wanted to be sure to post one of my favorite summer drinks - the Aperol Spritz.  I was introduced to this drink during our trip to Italy in 2016 and drank them throughout Italy.  (It was one of the few drinks you could order and get ice in it!)  This drink is so refreshing during hot weather and really hits the spot.  It originated in Italy and is one of their most popular aperitifs there.  Aperol is a citrusy, slightly bitter liquor that is apparently getting more popular here, too.  This summer I noticed that they were offered on a lot of local restaurant menus and I was delighted to be able order this colorful, summer drink once again.  I ordered one on my birthday at Il Terrazzo Carmine

 and then again for our anniversary at Salty's.  

It's the perfect summertime drink.  They are usually mixed in a large wine glass with an orange wedge but for my photo I mixed them in beer glasses with lime wedge because I made larger portions...we were thirsty!  It's an easy recipe to remember: it's 3 shots Prosecco, 2 shots Aperol, and 1 shot club soda or 3-2-1.  That way you can make any portion size you want if you remember that ratio.  We drank them a couple times this week when Bruce's sister, Lynn, was visiting us from Kansas City.  We were out and about doing a lot of sightseeing and we came home very thirsty and ready to relax with drinks and appetizers.

The first day she was here, we took the water taxi to the waterfront and stopped in at Copperworks Distilling where we stocked up on our gin and Lynn bought a little bottle of old fashion craft tonic for gin and tonics.

It really made our gin and tonics absolutely delicious.  This tonic is made from the bark of the South American quina plant, the way it was made in the old days.  Instead of mixing your gin with tonic water, you mix it with club soda with this homemade tonic.  We loved it.  This is the way we'll make our gin and tonics from now on. 

While we were on the waterfront, we stopped for lunch at the iconic Ivar's Acres of Clams and ordered another amazing drink made with prosecco and lavender lemonade.  

We all just loved this drink.  It wasn't sweet like lemonade, you tasted more the prosecco with a very subtle flavor of the lavender.  (I'm sure they added coloring to make it this dark purple.)

We didn't just drink alcoholic drinks the whole time she was here even though it may sound like it.  We went to a Mariner baseball game her first night and Lauren met us there after she got off work. The Mariners lost to the Padres in an interleague game but we were glad to be able to let Lynn experience Safeco Field and also visit a bit with Lauren.   

The next day, we took Lynn to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room, a must see for a true Seattle experience.  I think this may have been the highlight of Lynn's visit.  She absolutely loved it. 

It wasn't very busy during our visit so we sat down at their tasting bar and tasted three of their Starbucks Reserve coffee beans that are roasted at this facility.  

We were hungry, too, (lunchtime!) which was no problem here.  The food is incredible. We ordered a little of everything; croissant sandwich, baguette sandwich, and few sweet breads and more dessert croissants.
  

The Starbucks Roastery has partnered with an artisan Italian bakery called Princi where everything is baked fresh onsite.  The baker, Rocco Princi who is from Italy, has had his shop in Milan since 1986.  This is his first bakery in the U.S. and Starbucks plans to include  Princi in all their Roastery locations as they expand globally.  While we were there, they were training employees from their Shanghai location.  

It was fun watching them train while we sat at the bar, especially when they gave us their extra leftover samples.

We could tell a big difference between the Starbuck's Clover Brewing system verses the Starbuck's Siphon Brewing method.  The siphon method was so much more smooth.  It almost tasted like a completely different coffee bean.  This is the purpose of the tasting bar.  They love to let you taste all different kinds of beans and different methods of brewing.  It's very educational...

We were there for about two hours enjoying everything at the Roastery.  There is also a bar and a huge Princi deli.  

Of course, you can also see the bean roasting process going on and it's very visible to guests.  There is just so much to look at here. 

And, of course, there is lots to purchase while you're visiting the Roastery. 

Needless to say, the next day before we started our sightseeing, Lynn asked if we could stop at the Roastery once again.  But we didn't have time because we had signed up to tour the Boeing plant in Everett and had to hit the road.  So, this was our one and only visit to the Roastery but it was a stop that left a big impression on our visitor.  After we left the Roastery, we drove up to Snoqualmie Falls which is a beautiful spot.  We were feeling pretty good at this point with all that caffeine in our system.   

On Lynn's last day, we toured the Boeing plant in Everett where we saw 747s, 767s, 777s, 787s all being built.   We couldn't take photos inside the plant but we got this fake background photo op taken of our visit.    

Bruce and I had never been on the Boeing tour so we were happy to take Lynn up there and see it for ourselves.  It's an amazing and HUGE place. 

We love having visitors come to town because it gives us an excuse to get out and see local sights.  And it also gives me an excuse to try recipes.  My recipe for the Aperol Spritz is a large portion when you've got a big thirst to quench like we did last week.  Enjoy!

1 Drink

4-1/2 oz. Prosecco

2-1/2 oz. Aperol

1 oz. club soda

lime or orange wheel

Pour the prosecco into glass filled with ice.

Add the Aperol and lime wheel, then top with club soda.