October! Shouldn’t we be enjoying peaty, dark spirits by the fireplace? What the recent high temps mean for cocktail hour at my house is an extension of our Aperol spritz jag—taking a page from Mario Batali, we enjoyed this light, quenching drink all summer long. Aperol is an Italian amaro, bitter liqueur, an orange cousin of the more familiar, red Campari. Mixed with sparkling wine and mineral water, Aperol glows the color of Mario’s signature Crocs, a fact not lost on the Wall Street Journal, for whom he sketched the simple recipe last year in an orange-in-fashion roundup. Fill a goblet halfway with ice, and add two ounces each Aperol and mineral water, four ounces prosecco or other sparkling wine; garnish with an orange slice—and don’t forget to say cin-cin.