Aperol Punch for a Crowd
Ten glasses of spritz from one pitcher, without anyone standing by the ice bucket all evening.
- Preparation
- 15 min
- Cook/bake time
- –
- Total
- 1 hr 15 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 229 kcal
- Servings
- 10 glasses
- Prep
- 15 min
- Resting
- 1 hr
Only 15 min of that is hands-on – the rest takes care of itself.
Ten glasses of spritz from one pitcher, without anyone standing by the ice bucket all evening. The crucial difference from a single glass is that the ice does not go into the pitcher, but into the glasses. If you prepare the punch over ice, you will be serving orange-colored meltwater after half an hour.
Why this works
Ice cools by melting. Every gram extracts around 334 joules from the liquid during the transition from solid to liquid, and exactly this gram ends up as water in the drink afterwards. In a single glass, this is factored in because it is drunk quickly. In a pitcher that stands for an hour, it is ruinous. Two liters of punch over ice absorb several hundred milliliters of meltwater during this time and taste watery afterwards, no matter how good the ratio was before. Therefore, the punch is pre-chilled in the refrigerator and only comes into contact with ice in the glass. The second reason for the same rule is the carbonation. It only remains in solution under cold and pressure, which is why the Prosecco is only added shortly before serving.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Prepare the base
Put Aperol, orange juice, the orange slices and the slapped mint into a large pitcher. No ice, no Prosecco, no soda. This base is the only part that is allowed and supposed to steep.
- 2
Chill for at least one hour
Put the pitcher in the refrigerator. One hour is the minimum, four are better. During this time, the orange peel releases its essential oils into the alcohol. This is exactly what distinguishes a punch from a thrown-together drink. It should not stand longer than overnight, otherwise the peel will become bitter.
- 3
Prepare glasses with ice
Get the glasses ready and only now fill them three-quarters full with large ice cubes. When guests are there, this is the moment when you do everything in one go instead of running to the freezer again and again in between.
- 4
Finish in the glass
Pour about 80 milliliters of the cold base into each glass, top up with 150 milliliters of ice-cold Prosecco and add a dash of soda. An orange slice from the pitcher goes into the glass. Do not stir. The heavier Aperol mixes by itself when poured.
Our best tips
- The base can be prepared the day before and keeps in the refrigerator for one day. Remove the orange slices after about eight hours, after which they release bitter substances from the white pith.
- Only open the Prosecco when the guests are there. An opened bottle loses noticeable carbonation within an hour even with a stopper.
- Prepare large ice cubes yourself, ideally in a silicone mold with 4 cm cubes. The usual small cubes from the machine melt twice as fast.
Tasty variations
Non-alcoholic punch
Replace Aperol with non-alcoholic aperitivo bitter and Prosecco with non-alcoholic sparkling wine. Then additionally add the juice of two limes because both alternatives are sweeter.
With berries
Add 300 g strawberries, halved, to the base. They draw color and sweetness into it and are a little dessert of their own at the end.
Nutrition facts
| Calories | 229 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 23 g |
| – of which sugar | 20 g |
| Fat | 0 g |
| Fiber | 1 g |
Where the 229 kcal come from
per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it
We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:
- Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
- Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
- Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
- Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.
A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories does a glass have?
About 230 kcal per glass of around 250 milliliters. This is higher than an individually built Aperol Spritz with around 175 kcal because orange juice is also involved here and the orange slices are eaten.
How much do I need per person?
As an aperitif, you calculate one to two glasses per person. This recipe is therefore enough for five to ten guests. For a longer evening, it is better to prepare double the amount of base and buy more Prosecco.
Can I prepare the punch completely?
Only the base. Prosecco and soda must only go into the glass, otherwise the carbonation is gone after an hour at the latest. This is the most common mistake with punches and the only one that cannot be repaired.
Why no ice in the pitcher?
Because it melts. Two liters of punch over ice absorb several hundred milliliters of water in an hour. The pitcher belongs in the refrigerator, the ice in the glass.
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