This Hugo Spritz Riff with Rosé Might Be the Drink of the Summer

Every summer gets a signature drink—the breakout star that suddenly appears at every pool party, rooftop happy hour, and beach vacation. In recent years, we’ve had the Aperol Spritz, the Dirty Shirley, and the Hugo Spritz. And now, TikTok may have found its next warm-weather obsession: the Stavros.

The pale pink cocktail has been gaining traction thanks to creator John GS, who recently shared his recipe in a TikTok that’s racked up tens of thousands of views.

“This is how I make my favorite summer spritz,” he says in the video, shot while vacationing in Corfu. He pours rosé into a glass before adding elderflower syrup, fresh lime juice, sparkling water, and a sprig of rosemary. “It’s the perfect drink to have when it’s 30° [86°F] in the sun. And listen, even if you’re not in Greece, make this and you’ll feel like you are.”

That's a bold promise. I love rosé and a Hugo Spritz so I knew I had to try it.

At first glance, the Stavros doesn’t look revolutionary. Wine spritzers have existed forever. In France, rosé served over ice is called "Rosé Piscine" (which translates to “swimming pool rosé”).

But the Stavros borrows a key element from another recent favorite: the Hugo Spritz.

The Hugo, which originated in northern Italy, combines elderflower liqueur, Prosecco, sparkling water, mint, and lime for a lighter, more floral alternative to the bitter Aperol Spritz. Over the last two summers, it has become the go-to drink among people who find Aperol a little too aggressively orange.

The Stavros takes that same elderflower magic and swaps Prosecco for rosé. The result is a pale pink cocktail that calls to mind romantic sunsets, peony petals, and the blush glow that seems to follow people around luxury resorts.

If you’ve never had elderflower before, imagine the floral notes of honeysuckle mixed with pear, lychee, and a touch of citrus. It’s fragrant without veering into perfume territory, which helps explain why bartenders love it so much.

The most famous version is St-Germain, the French elderflower liqueur that has become such a staple behind the bar that industry insiders sometimes call it “bartender’s ketchup.” Much like ketchup can instantly add flavor to a meal, a splash of St-Germain can make almost any cocktail taste more complex, floral, and polished with very little effort.

Combined with crisp rosé and a squeeze of lime, the elderflower creates a cocktail that feels lighter than a glass of wine but more interesting than a basic spritzer.

The rosemary garnish isn’t just decorative, either. Every sip comes with a subtle hint of the forest that makes the whole experience feel vaguely Mediterranean and slightly more expensive than it actually is.

After watching John GS make the cocktail on TikTok, I mixed up my own version. He uses an elderflower syrup, but I swapped in St-Germain elderflower liqueur instead because it’s easier to find in the U.S. and already a staple in many home bars.

Stavros Recipe

Active: 5 min.
Total: 5 min.

Serves: 1

• 1/2 cup rosé, chilled
• 1 Tbsp St-Germain elderflower liqueur
• Juice of 1/4 lime, plus lime wheel for garnish
• 1 1/2 oz club soda, chilled
• 1 rosemary sprig, for garnish

In a mixing glass, combine the rosé, elderflower liqueur, and lime juice. Fill with ice and stir well. Strain into an ice-filled serving glass. Top with club soda and gently stir. Garnish with the rosemary sprig and lime wheel and pretend you’re overlooking the Aegean Sea.

It taps into the lighter-drinking trend. People have been gravitating toward lower-alcohol drinks for years now. Spritzes continue to dominate summer menus because they’re refreshing and don’t leave you feeling like you’ve accidentally consumed an entire bottle of wine before sunset.

It’s basically a rosé spritzer with a glow-up. Adding sparkling water stretches the wine, lowers the alcohol content per serving, and makes the drink especially thirst-quenching on hot days. It scratches the same itch as a classic white wine spritzer while delivering more flavor and personality thanks to the elderflower and rosemary.

The ingredients are surprisingly easy to find. Unlike some viral cocktails that require tracking down obscure bottles or investing in bar gadgets you’ll use exactly once, the Stavros keeps things simple. If you already have a bottle of rosé in your fridge, you’re most of the way there.

It feels like a vacation in a glass. Between the floral elderflower, bright lime, herbaceous rosemary, and pale blush color, the Stavros channels the same Mediterranean energy that’s made the Hugo Spritz such a hit.

It’s tailor-made for hot weather. Crisp, bubbly, and not overly sweet, it’s the kind of drink that feels especially satisfying when the temperature climbs and a heavier cocktail suddenly sounds like work.

The internet crowns a new “drink of the summer” approximately every 15 minutes, so that's a difficult title to earn.

But the Stavros has a lot going for it.

It’s easy to make. It’s pretty in a glass. It tastes like a vacation. And most importantly, it's genuinely refreshing instead of merely photogenic.

Will it dethrone the Aperol Spritz? Probably not.

But if you’re looking for a cocktail that feels like a Hugo Spritz on a Greek island vacation, the Stavros might be the most compelling contender yet.