For those who choose their cocktails based on TikTok hot takes, the Hugo Spritz — a mix of St. Germain, Prosecco, and club soda — seems to be the official drink of summer, at least as evidenced by countless #drinktok comment threads. But mention the Hugo Spritz to a bartender, and you’ll get a pretty standard response: an eye roll.  

“If you would have asked me maybe five, seven years ago, I would have probably had a more favorable opinion of [the Hugo Spritz],” says Amina Cochran, a bartender at Little Dom’s, a crowd-favorite Italian spot in Los Angeles. “But now, my palate has had more experience with amaros and liqueurs.”

It’s Cochran who first turned me onto a drink for the anti-sweet set, or what you could call the industry’s drink of summer: the Cynar Spritz.

The Cynar Spritz tastes something like an adult Coca-Cola, like if a Coke could kick you in the teeth. Made with everyone’s favorite artichoke-based amaro, Cynar, as well as prosecco and club soda, once in the glass, it looks kind of like oxidized dirt
.  
cont. on Food & Wine