I don’t like to follow recipes when I make cocktails, there’s usually too much going on and I want to be like a bartender and keep the conversation rolling. Precision is not required when making a spritz, but I do recommend trying the classic ratios first before making adjustments.
For this cocktail, begin with a glass full of quality ice (before using your freezer cubes, taste them…they might be good, but they might be nasty and you should do something about that. I keep two special trays for square cubes, small and large, and sometimes buy a bag of ice.)
Decide if you want to use your shaker or not. It’s nice for muddling mint and for getting the liqueur nice and cold if it’s not already chilled—shake-shake-shake with ice then strain into your ice-filled glass (fresh ice). Start with a shot of St-Germain (about 1½ ounces; 3 tablespoons), top with 2 shots green tea (about 2 ounces, which is a heaping shot; ¼ cup; 4 tablespoons) and 2 shots Prosecco. Stir, swizzle, what have you; add club soda if you want more bubbles. Garnish and enjoy!
Alternatively, start with as little as a tablespoon of St-Germain (½ ounce), fill the glass with Prosecco and a splash of club soda, skipping the green tea entirely. St-Germain Spritz purists don’t add mint or lime or lemon, but I think those things are nice (muddled or for garnish), especially in the summer when I have mint growing in a pot on the porch.
More about elderflowers: Each May through early June, elderflowers bloom in France and are made into liqueur, St-Germain being the classic—it takes as many as 1,000 fresh elderflowers to create a single finished bottle, according to the Food & Wine article I tore out back in spring and saved for summer. The golden color comes from the pollen present on the flowers. How sweet is that? Cheers!
Green Tea Hugo Spritz
makes 1 cocktail; adapted from Food & Wine magazine, April 2025
Ingredients
- nice ice!
- 1½ ounces St-Germain elderflower liqueur 3 tablespoons
- 2 ounces brewed green tea, chilled
- 2 ounces Prosecco
optional: mint leaves, lime or lemon wheels, club soda
Instructions
-
Decide if you want to use your shaker or not. It's nice for muddling mint and for getting the liqueur nice and cold if it's not already chilled—shake-shake-shake with ice then strain into an ice-filled glass (fresh ice).
Alternatively, muddle mint directly in glass. Or save the mint for garnish.
-
Start with a shot of St-Germain (approx. 1½ ounces), then top with 2 shots green tea (about 2 ounces, which is a heaping shot; ¼ cup; 4 tablespoons), and 2 shots Prosecco. Stir, swizzle, what have you, and add club soda if you want more bubbles. Garnish with a circle of lime and sprig of mint or a lemon wheel. Cheers!
