With roots in the nineteenth century, the Spritz was originally a combination of wine and carbonated water. By the 1920s and ‘30s, the classic Italian refresher solidified as a combination of bitter aperitivo liqueur, wine (or vermouth, see: Americano & Negroni Sbagliato), and soda. In the 1990s, prosecco became an essential ingredient in the Spritz.

The head of the Negroni family isn’t, it might surprise you, the Negroni. The now-iconic drink is actually more like the third generation of the Campari-laced clan. The Milano-Torino was the first to mix Campari and sweet vermouth (a nod to these products’ respective origins), way back in the 1860s.

The Negroni emerged circa 1920, but doesn’t show up in bar manuals under that name until the ‘40s, when its equal parts mixture of London dry gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari. It was adopted as a favorite of cocktail revivalists in the aughts and 2010s, which has spawned countless variations.

The Americano mightn’t be just a lengthened Mi-To as previously assumed, but rather a genre of drink that combined vermouth with various liqueurs, especially aperitivo and amaro. Fernet-Branca was a popular option, but Campari won out by the ‘30s.

Sbagliato means “mistaken” or “bungled” in Italian. That’s a reference to the apocryphal tale told about why the Negroni Sbagliato features prosecco—and no gin. The resulting beverage is a delightful cross between the Americano and the Spritz.

There was a period of time in the life of the Spritz, where the bubbly and wine elements were still kept separate, i.e. still wine and soda were used in concert to create a similar effect. Both of the lesser-known spritzes we’re highlighting this week are built this way. The Bicicletta combines white wine, Campari, and soda, and dates from around the 1930s.

The Giostra d’Alcol (“carousel of alcohol”) is from the same period, invented by futurist Enrico Prampolini. It combines red wine, Campari, and cedrata (a citron soda); its original recipe calls for a garnish of cheese and chocolate on a cocktail pick.

This is the “root drink” for this month’s recipes. It was one of those cocktails that I thought up, tried, and loved right away! This spirit-forward, bittersweet drink is adjacent to two well-known agave-based Negroni riffs: the Rosita (tequila, sweet vermouth, dry vermouth, aperitivo liqueur) and the Oaxacan Negroni (mezcal, sweet vermouth, Campari). For a little extra bitterness, opt for a grapefruit twist; orange works great here, too.

This is an exceedingly refreshing beer cocktail that’s absolutely perfect for summer. I took inspiration from several templates: the Paloma (tequila, lime, grapefruit, sugar, soda), Radlers (beer, grapefruit), the Spaghett (domestic lager, Aperol, lemon), and the Michelada (Mexican lager, salt, lime, spice sometimes tomato juice, Clamato and other ingredients).

This year, my brilliant friend and colleague Kris Kirkland came up with a drink called the Rhinestone Cowboy for the Gigantic spring menu. It consists of mezcal, reposado tequila, Cocchi Rosa, peach liqueur, grapefruit, lime, frozen peach chunks, agave, and basil. I wanted to do something similar with strawberry, so I cut out the mezcal’s smokiness in favor of more vanilla flavor from the tequila and aperitivo liqueur. The results are delicious!