Spritzer has a story way back to the beginning of cocktail history where carbonated water was an element part of cocktails categories such as bucks, rickeys, collins, fizzes, and punch.

Carbonated water dilutes the liquor and adds to the drink a tang, a zest, a sparkle note.

In Jerry Thomas 1862 Bartender’s Guide, a spritzer can be traced under the name “Rhine Wine and Seltzer-Water” with a combination of equal parts white wine and soda water. He also mentioned that “This is a German drink, and is not very likely to be called for at an American bar.”

The word “spritz” originates from the German verb spritzen, meaning splash. In fact, the drink origins when Venice was still part of the Austrian Empire and the soldiers drank the local wines and they often diluted with fizzy water to either make it weaker or mask some of the poor quality wines.

The drink can also be found in Harry Johnson’s 1882 Bartender’s Guide, where he notes “attention must be paid that both the wine and seltzer water are continually kept on ice. This is the most favourite drink with the German people, and drank by them in many cases instead of lemonade.”