Blood oranges run on a short clock. They show up in markets in early winter and are mostly gone by mid spring, which makes late March the moment to grab the stragglers and put them to work. Their deep red flesh comes from anthocyanins, the same pigments found in berries, and the flavor follows the color: orange, but darker, with a tart, raspberry-like edge that regular oranges cannot fake.
That edge is what makes them ideal spritz material. A spritz, in the Italian aperitivo tradition, is a low-stakes pre-dinner drink: something lightly bitter lengthened with bubbles, meant for slow, unhurried sipping before dinner. This blood orange mocktail keeps that whole idea intact and simply skips the alcohol. If our Winter Citrus Sparkler is the bright, first-week-of-January version of a citrus and bubbles drink, this is its moodier end-of-season sibling.
Ingredients
- 2 oz fresh blood orange juice (about one large orange)
- 1 oz non-alcoholic bitter aperitivo
- 0.25 oz fresh lemon juice
- 3 to 4 oz chilled sparkling water, or a non-alcoholic sparkling wine for a fuller spritz
- Ice
- Blood orange half-wheel, for garnish
The bitter aperitivo is the backbone here. Ghia, Wilderton, and St. Agrestis all make bottles that fit, and any of them will do the job of keeping the citrus from tasting like breakfast juice. We went deep on why that bitter counterweight matters in our guide to understanding bitterness in cocktails; the short version is that bitterness is what makes a fruit drink taste like an aperitif instead of a juice box.
Instructions
- Juice the blood orange and strain out the pulp if you prefer a cleaner look. The juice is a deep garnet color, so a clear glass shows it off.
- Fill a large wine glass with ice. Plenty of it: a spritz is meant to stay cold for a long, slow sit.
- Add the blood orange juice, the aperitivo, and the lemon juice.
- Top with the sparkling water or NA sparkling wine, pouring gently down the side of the glass to keep the bubbles alive, and give it one easy stir.
- Rest the blood orange half-wheel on the ice and serve immediately.
Variations
No aperitivo on hand: Use tonic water in place of the sparkling water and add a tiny pinch of salt. The quinine supplies the bitterness and the salt rounds out the citrus. It is a different drink, but a good one.
Wine-style spritz: Topping with a non-alcoholic sparkling wine such as Lyre’s Classico Grande gives the drink more body and a rounder, softer finish. This is the version to serve guests.
Herbal: Add a rosemary sprig with the garnish, or shake the juices briefly with a few fresh basil leaves before building. Both herbs get along well with blood orange’s berry side.
After the season ends: Cara Cara oranges make a sweeter, pink-hued substitute, and a fifty-fifty mix of regular orange juice and cranberry juice gets you surprisingly close to the color and tartness.
Final Thoughts
Seasonal cooking logic applies to drinks just as much as to food: the best mocktails usually start with whatever is at its peak, and right now that is blood oranges. If you find a good haul, juice the extras and freeze the juice in ice cube trays. A few cubes thawed in April or May will buy this spritz another month or two of life. The drink itself asks very little of you, which is the whole point of a spritz. Cold glass, good juice, a bitter edge, plenty of bubbles, and no hurry at all.
