REVEALED: BEFORE His Viral Cocktail Recipe, Al Roker SECRETLY Tasted 3 Summer Drinks – And What Inspired His FINAL Creation Will Leave You CURIOUS and THIRSTY

If Al Roker walks up to a bar, TODAY viewers know exactly what he’s going to order: A delicious Aperol spritz.

Indeed, Craig Melvin called the quintessential summer cocktail “the official Roker drink” when TODAY’s beloved weatherman celebrated his 45th anniversary with NBC in 2023. Roker also told Barron’s in a 2024 interview that his “drink of choice” is the Aperol spritz. “I first had it in Paris with my daughter,” he said. “It’s refreshing and colorful.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Roker has even created his own spin on the Aperol spritz that he included in his 2024 cookbook, Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By: Easy, Memory-Making Family Dishes for Every Occasion. Read on to find out how he makes his stand out from the original.

Al Roker fell in love with Aperol Spritzes in France

 

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Roker shares in his cookbook that he first tried an Aperol spritz while he was in France with his wife Deborah Roberts, daughter Leila, and son Nick.

“I was sitting in a French bistro with Deborah, Nick and Leila when a waiter passed our table carrying a tray full of intriguing orange-hued drinks. I looked around. Many of the patrons were enjoying this mysterious beverage, even though it was barely noon,” he writes in a excerpt published by TODAY. “I immediately asked the waiter to bring me what everyone else was having. Where had this tasty cocktail been all my life? My family was ready to do some sightseeing, but I couldn’t imagine anything better than indulging in a bit of café life while sipping the nectar of the gods.”

Al Roker and Leila Roker attend the premiere of Suicide Squad on August 1, 2016 in New York City. Photo: Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

After Roker took a taste of the summery cocktail, he ordered another — and then one more. “I ordered a second (and a third) and settled back into a perfect Parisian afternoon,” he writes in his cookbook.

Al Roker adds more flavor to his Aperol Spritz recipe with extra ingredients

A traditional Aperol spritz is made with just three ingredients: Aperol, Prosecco, and soda water. Roker’s recipe, however, zhuzhes up the Italian cocktail by also adding simple syrup and blood orange juice. Not only does it sound refreshing and a bit sweet, it also looks perfect for a sipping session in the sun.

You can find full recipe for Al Roker’s Blood Orange Aperol Spritz in his cookbook or via TODAY. 

Al Roker celebrated his 70th birthday with an “Al-perol” spritz on TODAY

In August 2024, the TODAY team celebrated Roker’s milestone 70th birthday by bringing in Tim Sweeney, head bartender at Pebble Bar in New York City, who created a new drink inspired the TODAY co-anchor’s “favorite cocktail in the world.” Dubbed “If the Al-perol Fits,” Sweeney whipped up round of cocktails using champagne syrup, egg whites, gin, lemon juice, and of course, Aperol.

In fact, you can even find the Roker-inspired cocktail on Pebble Bar menu.