The Taste Of Summer Evenings In Europe.

In Boston, we drank rose in Summer. Heck, we drink rose in Summer pretty much anywhere.  That was the taste of Summer evenings for me. A chilled glass of rose.

Then, while traveling across Europe last Summer, I discovered Aperol.  

And more importantly, the Aperol Spritz.

A bitter sparkling chilled cocktail I first had while in Berlin. And continued to have at every cocktail hour where it was available. 

But finding a bottle of Aperol stateside was not anything I'd considered. In fact, I'd long forgotten about this gorgeous cocktail until a few weeks ago when I was thinking about what would be great to make as a Summer cocktail.

Rose?

Watermelon Margarita?

A watermelon beer?

And then I remembered the Aperol Spritz. 

So off to discover the wonder that is the local BevMo here in Encinitas. I'd never been in one before, and I was pleased with what I saw when I got inside it. There was so much!

I quickly found my bottle, and also picked up the soda and the Prosecco to complete the recipe.

When I got home, into a shaker everything went...

And then out of the shaker everything went.

Gorgeous color.

It matched my Tom Ford lipstick...

(That's the Flame color.)

The perfect way to wrap up the week, mid-Summer. Though, let's face it... Here in Paradise, "Summer" is mid-70s and sunny... Which is how it is for a large part of the year. So this will always remind me of the European Summer evenings.