Hugo cocktail snaps at Aperol's heels in UK summer of spritz

It is the summer of spritz in Britain, and the Hugo elderflower cocktail is snapping at the heels of the market-leader Aperol to be this year's favourite drink, according to British sales figures reported by the Guardian. The elderflower-based drink is enjoying explosive growth, with Campari, Sarti Rosa and limoncello varieties also taking off.

The Hugo's rise is a story that begins in the mountains of northern Italy, where the cocktail was invented in 2005 in the South Tyrolean town of Naturno. The drink — typically a mix of elderflower syrup, prosecco, sparkling water and mint — has become a staple of Alpine and northern Italian bars, and its growing popularity abroad is now resonating in the region where it was born.

For Piemonte, the spritz is more than a summer drink. The region's vineyards produce the prosecco grapes that feed the cocktail's base, and the aperitivo culture is woven into the social fabric of Turin's historic cafes. The Hugo's British success is a small but telling sign of how Italian drinking habits are being exported, even as the market leader remains an Italian brand.

The Guardian's report, published Saturday, cites British sales figures showing the Hugo's growth rate outstripping that of Aperol, the bitter orange liqueur produced by the Campari Group that has long dominated the spritz market. The Hugo, the report notes, is now the drink of the summer, with the elderflower flavour profile appealing to a younger, lighter-drinking generation.

The trend has implications beyond the bar. Prosecco, the sparkling wine that forms the backbone of both the Hugo and the Aperol spritz, is produced in the Veneto and Friuli regions of northeastern Italy, but its distribution and marketing are national. Piemonte's own sparkling wine, Alta Langa, is a smaller player in the same category, and the region's wine producers are watching the British market closely as a bellwether for export demand.

The cocktail's rise also reflects a broader shift in British drinking culture, as consumers move away from heavier spirits towards lighter, lower-alcohol options. The Guardian's report frames the Hugo as part of this trend, noting that its popularity has been driven by social media and its photogenic appearance — a pale green drink garnished with mint and a slice of lime.

For Turin's aperitivo bars, the Hugo's international success is a point of pride. The cocktail may have been born in the Alto Adige, but the spritz culture that sustains it is shared across the Po Valley, where the evening ritual of a drink and a small snack before dinner remains a daily institution. As British drinkers embrace the Hugo, they are, in a small way, adopting that ritual.

The Guardian's report does not break down sales by region, but the overall trend is clear: the Hugo is no longer a niche drink. Its growth is a reminder that Italy's food and drink exports remain a powerful soft-power asset, even as the country's industrial and political headlines focus elsewhere. For Piemonte, the region that gave the world Nutella and Barolo, the Hugo's rise is another chapter in the story of Italian taste going global.