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The Spaghett is a fun Aperol cocktail with beer instead of Prosecco! It’s refreshing and served right in the bottle.
Here’s one of the easiest Aperol cocktails there is: the Spaghett! This fun cocktail is hardly a recipe at all, and it’s built right in a beer bottle. It’s a play on an Aperol spritz, with bubbles from beer instead of the Prosecco.
It’s lightly sweet, zingy, and refreshing, here to revolutionize your summer cocktail repertoire. The mysterious name made me give it a try, and (light beer aside), I’m a big fan now.
5 Star Reader Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Very refreshing! I used Angostura bitters. Nice citrusy cocktail in a bottle. I used Dos Equis for the beer.” -Keith
What is a Spaghett?
A Spagett is a beer cocktail made with light beer, lemon juice, and Aperol, an Italian liqueur. It’s a nod to the iconic Aperol Spritz, swapping out the bubbly Prosecco and soda water with beer. It comes out bubbly and refreshing, lightly sweet with a subtle zingy finish. You’ll need three ingredients to make a Spaghett, which is made right inside the beer bottle:
- Aperol,
- lemon juice, and
- light beer (traditionally Miller High Life).
What’s With the Name?
The drink was invented in 2016 at Wet City Brewery in Baltimore by bartender Reed Cahill. The name apparently refers to the character Spagett from the “Tim and Eric Awesome Show” on Adult Swim. I’m not sure of the exact connection with Aperol and beer, but the mysterious name makes the drink even more fun. (Let me know if you have any ideas!)
Adjust the Aperol as Desired
The Spaghett is barely a cocktail recipe at all; simply take a swig out of the beer bottle, then add lemon juice and Aperol. I tried this recipe with various quantities of Aperol, and found the following:
- Use 1 ounce Aperol for a subtly sweet finish. This version of the drink tastes like light beer that’s subtly sweet and citrusy. It’s very refreshing and has a nuanced flavor.
- Use 1 ½ ounces Aperol for a bolder flavor. This tastes more like an actual cocktail, with a more pronounced sweet citrus flavor from the liqueur.
The second one was my favorite, since it tasted like more of a finished cocktail, whereas Alex liked the subtler flavor with 1 ounce of Aperol.
More About Aperol
Aperol is an Italian liqueur that’s an aperitif: a liquor designed for sipping before a meal. It’s considered an Italian amaro or bitter (amaro means “little bitter”), but it’s the sweetest in the family. It was invented in Padua, Italy, in 1919 by brothers Luigi and Silvio Barbieri. The company that sells Campari, Gruppo Campari, bought Aperol in the 1990s.
Aperol is bright orange and has a sweet, citrusy flavor, whereas its cousin, the liqueur Campari, is bright red and extremely bitter. In fact, Italian liqueurs are more different than they are alike; see Campari vs Aperol.
Can you use Campari in a Spaghett? I wouldn’t recommend it. The bitter flavor of Campari would be too stark a contrast against the light beer.
Spaghett Cocktail
The Spaghett is a fun Aperol cocktail with beer instead of Prosecco! It’s refreshing and served right in the bottle.
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 2 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Cocktails
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 12-ounce bottle light beer (like Miller High Life)
- ½ ounce lemon juice
- 1 to 1 1/2 ounces Aperol
- Orange bitters, optional
Instructions
- Remove one large sip from the beer bottle.
- Pour the lemon juice and Aperol into the beer bottle. If desired, add orange bitters. Serve immediately.
Very refreshing! I Used angostura bitters. Nice citrusy cocktail in a bottle. I used Dos Equis for the beer.
Let us know if you have any questions!