A contrarian take on every overpriced pool party’s VIP beverage, the Aperol Spritz, published by The New York Times is what the internet fought about on May 9. Because who among us hasn’t been poolside, drinking bubbly yet bitter booze from an absolutely ginormous glass and thought, “I’d call a stranger an idiot defending the honor of this $15 drink.”
The piece, succinctly titled “The Aperol Spritz Is Not a Good Drink,” quickly galvanized everyone who loves social media fighting and alcohol (a predictably huge overlap) to chime in with pushback on author Rebekah Peppler’s assertion that it “drinks like a Capri Sun after soccer practice on a hot day. Not in a good way.”
Peppler both quotes Aperol haters and finds fault with the “terrible quality, sweet prosecco” often used to make the cocktail, which seemed to infuriate admirers of bitter alcohol and cheap hooch in equal measure, as did tips on how to avoid polluting your perfect spritz with “garbage bubbles.”
Aperol Spritzes are adequate because they transmit alcohol from one’s cup into one’s body, and the internet really was a mistake.