You want a festive cocktail that’s actually refreshing instead of syrupy sweet. The Holiday Hugo Spritz delivers—an Italian classic that trades the usual sugary holiday drinks for something balanced and sophisticated. Tart cranberry juice cuts through the elderflower liqueur’s honeyed notes, prosecco brings the bubbles, and fresh mint keeps it interesting. Five minutes from ingredients to glass, and you’re drinking something that actually tastes like the season instead of a liquid candy cane.
What Is a Holiday Hugo Spritz Cocktail?
Quick Answer: The Holiday Hugo Spritz is a festive twist on the Hugo, a Northern Italian aperitivo that bartender Roland Gruber created in 2005 at his bar in Naturns, South Tyrol. He built it as a lighter alternative to the Aperol Spritz, mixing prosecco with lemon balm syrup (later swapped for elderflower syrup), fresh mint, and sparkling water. Modern versions use St. Germain elderflower liqueur instead of syrup, which is what we’re working with here. Our holiday version adds unsweetened cranberry juice—tart enough to cut through the sweetness without making this another sugary holiday drink.
Here’s what makes this interesting: the Hugo spritz is barely 20 years old, making it one of the youngest “classic” cocktails around. Most spritzes trace their lineage back a century or more. The Hugo spread from South Tyrol through Austria and Germany almost entirely by word of mouth, which tells you everything about how good this combination is.
What you’ll love about this recipe:
What You Need to Make a Holiday Hugo Spritz
How to Make a Holiday Hugo Spritz
- Add 6-7 mint leaves to the bottom of a stemmed wine or spritz glass. Muddle gently—you want to bruise the leaves and release their oils, not shred them into confetti. If you don’t have a muddler, use the handle of a wooden spoon and press down firmly without twisting.
- Pour 1½ ounces of elderflower liqueur over the muddled mint. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes. This gives the mint time to infuse the liqueur properly instead of just floating around looking pretty.
- Fill the glass with ice cubes. Add 1 ounce of unsweetened cranberry juice, then pour in 3 ounces of chilled prosecco. Top with 2 ounces of sparkling water until the glass is nearly full.
- Give it a slow stir with a long bar spoon—just enough to incorporate everything without killing the bubbles. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs, a few cranberries, and an orange slice.
Bartender’s Tips
- Chill your glass for 15 minutes before building the drink. Room temperature glass means faster ice melt, which means a watered-down spritz nobody wants. Stick it in the freezer while you’re getting your ingredients together.
- Adjust the sweetness with sparkling water. If your prosecco runs sweeter than expected, add an extra splash of sparkling water and a touch more cranberry juice. The ratio should leave you with something refreshing, not cloying.
- Go easy on the muddling. Over-muddle the mint and you’ll extract bitter chlorophyll that turns the drink swampy. A few gentle presses is all you need.
- Make it alcohol-free. Swap the prosecco for non-alcoholic sparkling wine and replace the elderflower liqueur with elderflower syrup. You’ll need to dial back the syrup slightly—start with 1 ounce instead of 1½—since it’s sweeter than the liqueur.
- Try pomegranate juice instead of cranberry. Same tart profile, slightly different flavor. It works, especially if you’re already tired of cranberry everything by mid-December.
How to Serve This Holiday Hugo Spritz
Serve this in a large wine glass or a proper spritz glass if you’ve got one. The visual matters here—you want guests to see that deep cranberry color and the mint floating through the bubbles. It’s an aperitivo, which means you’re drinking it before dinner, ideally with some good cheese, olives, or charcuterie on the side.
This works for holiday brunches, Christmas Eve gatherings, New Year’s parties—anywhere you need something festive that won’t knock everyone on their ass before dinner. The lower ABV makes it the kind of drink you can have two of without making questionable decisions.
More Cocktail Recipes
Want more spritz recipes? Check out our complete guide to spritzes or browse our prosecco cocktails for more Italian-inspired drinks.
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Holiday Hugo Spritz
Equipment
- stemmed wine or spritz glass
- jigger or small liquid measuring cup
- long bar spoon
or regular spoon muddler or wooden spoon
- small knife
- cutting board
Ingredients
- 1 cup ice cubes
- 6-7 fresh mint leaves plus more for garnish
- 1½ ounces elderflower liqueur
- 1 ounce unsweetened cranberry juice
- 3 ounces prosecco chilled
- 2 ounces sparkling water chilled
- cranberries for garnish
- orange slice for garnish
Instructions
- Add the mint leaves to the bottom of the glass. Muddle to release aroma without tearing the leaves apart.
- Pour the elderflower liqueur over the muddled mint. Let the glass stand for a few minutes to allow the mint to infuse the liqueur.
- Fill your glass with the ice cubes and add the cranberry juice. Pour in the prosecco. Top with sparkling water until the glass looks nearly full.
- Give it a slow stir with a long spoon. Garnish with mint, cranberries and an orange slice.
Recipe FAQs
No. The bubbles are what makes a spritz work, and they don’t survive advance prep. You can muddle the mint with the elderflower liqueur an hour ahead and keep it chilled, but add the prosecco and sparkling water right before serving.
No. The bubbles are what makes a spritz work, and they don’t survive advance prep. You can muddle the mint with the elderflower liqueur an hour ahead and keep it chilled, but add the prosecco and sparkling water right before serving.
It’ll work, but cut the elderflower liqueur back to 1 ounce and increase the sparkling water to 3 ounces. Cranberry cocktail is already sweetened, so you need to compensate or you’ll end up with something that tastes like melted candy.
Sure. Cava or a dry sparkling rosé both work. Champagne works too, but it’s overkill for a drink this simple. Save the good stuff for drinking straight.
You over-muddled the mint and extracted chlorophyll. Make another one with gentler muddling, or strain out the mint pieces if you can’t let it go.
Muddle mint with elderflower liqueur in a pitcher (multiply by number of servings). Let it sit for 5 minutes. Add cranberry juice and ice to individual glasses, then divide the mint-infused elderflower liqueur between them. Top each glass with prosecco and sparkling water right before serving. Don’t try to pre-batch the whole thing—you’ll lose the carbonation.
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