In June of 2026, Google searches for Hugo Spritz surpassed those for Aperol Sprtiz for the first time. Julian Arreola, US National Ambassador for St-Germain, partly attributes the meteoric rise of Hugo Spritz to the post-pandemic travel boom. “Post-pandemic, around 2022, as Americans were able to go and travel again [to] the coastal cities of Italy and throughout Europe, this cocktail had already been established locally.” says Arreola. American travelers were exposed to the drink on their trips and started to ask for it when they returned home stateside.
Viva La Mamma’s original location in Vienna was already all about the spritz life. It only has a beer and wine license and offers spritzes by the jugs. The Los Angeles location has a full liquor license, but spritz is still a big category and Hugo Spritz is easily the number one selling spritz, followed by Aperol Spritz.
“Aperol Spritz is great,” says Arreola, “that was also my introduction to the category.” But Aperol has a very particular taste profile, which Arreola says is amazing, but “it’s also specific. [The Hugo Spritz] was a way to experiment upon the category in a way that was both familiar to the European market, and then as it entered the U.S. became something exotic and fun.” The fact that the flavor profile of elderflower itself is “both familiar and comforting, but also like exotic and fun” is why Arreola thinks there’s such an explosion in Hugo Spritz’ popularity.
The other major driver is the generational shifts in drinking habits. “This younger generation is much more prone to drinking light, brighter, low-ABV cocktails,” Arreola notes. Walton agrees that based on his experience, it’s been the younger demographics that are driving the Hugo Spritz sales. “It’s such an easy entryway into the spritz world, and then also just the cocktail world,” Walton says, “it’s also very photogenic, you know.”
The cocktail is also very accessible to make, so home bartenders can confidently make a quality Hugo Spritz. Perhaps the main reason, though, is that Hugo Spritz seems to fit no matter what you’re doing, whether you’re entertaining in the winter or on a beach holiday. Though Arreola admits that he may be biased, he believes that there is no occasion where it doesn’t feel appropriate to enjoy a Hugo Spritz.
