White Wine Spritzer with Lemon-Thyme Syrup

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A wine spritzer that tastes like it came from a good wine bar instead of a backyard cooler: chilled dry white wine, hard-sparkling soda water, and a splash of quick lemon-thyme syrup that adds perfume without turning the glass sweet. The syrup takes five minutes on the stove and keeps for two weeks, so you can build a glass in under a minute — or batch a pitcher for a crowd.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 strips lemon zest, removed in wide strips with a peeler
• 1 pinch kosher salt

• 1 bottle (750 ml) dry white wine, very cold (Pinot Grigio, Grüner Veltliner, or dry Riesling)
• 2 cups sparkling water or club soda, very cold
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• as needed large ice cubes

• 1 lemon, cut into thin half-moons
• 1/2 English cucumber, sliced into long ribbons or thin coins
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme, for the glasses

Instructions

1. Make the syrup: combine the sugar, water, thyme sprigs, lemon zest strips, and pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar fully dissolves, about 2 to 3 minutes. Do not let it boil hard or reduce.
2. Pull the pan off the heat, cover, and let the thyme and zest steep for 20 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a jar, pressing gently on the solids. Refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour (or set the jar in an ice-water bath for 15 minutes if you're in a hurry). The syrup keeps, covered, for 2 weeks.
3. Chill everything: the wine and sparkling water should be at 38 to 40°F, straight from the back of the fridge. A lukewarm spritzer goes flat and tastes flabby, so put the glasses in the freezer for 10 minutes too.
4. To build one glass: fill a wine glass or tumbler with large ice cubes. Add 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) lemon-thyme syrup and 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, then pour in 4 ounces cold white wine.
5. Top with 2 1/2 ounces cold sparkling water, pouring down the inside of the glass to protect the bubbles. Stir exactly once with a bar spoon, lifting from the bottom, then stop.
6. Tuck in a cucumber ribbon and a lemon half-moon, slap a thyme sprig against your palm to wake up the oil, and lay it across the ice. Serve immediately, while the glass is still frosted.
7. To make a pitcher for six: stir the full bottle of wine, 6 tablespoons syrup, and the 3 tablespoons lemon juice in a pitcher and refrigerate up to 4 hours. Add the 2 cups sparkling water, cucumber, and lemon slices only in the last minute before pouring over ice.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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