Italy is the homeland of the aperitif: hanging out with friends whilst sipping a nice cocktail and tasting finger food is an all-Italian tradition, and just as Italian are the most popular Italian aperitif drinks.
The custom of having an alcoholic drink before dinner was already a thing in Ancient Rome to whet the appetite, what we know today as aperitif, however, was born officially in Turin in 1786. Antonio Benedetto Carpano created a liquor conceived to be drunk before having dinner: it is Vermouth, which is still a staple among many popular drink recipes.
Here are the best Italian aperitif drinks, town by town:
Aperol Spritz, Veneto
Surely one of the Italian aperitif drinks which currently among the most sought after during the happy hour is Aperol Spritz. It was created in the early 1800s between Venice and Padua as a result of the custom that the army of the Austrian Empire had which was to dilute wines with sparkling water. This method was then combined with Aperol, a product from Padua, that lends Spritz that typical bittersweet taste.
Recipe: 90 ml Prosecco – 60 ml Aperol – Splash of seltzer
Pirlo, Brescia
This cocktail, also called the Brescia Spritz, must not confused with its Venetian-style version; actually, some even go as far as to say that this is to be considered the father of Spritz. What we do know for sure is that Pirlo is the symbol of the Italian aperitif drinks in the Brescia area. The name, which comes from the dialect, means “to fall” and indicates the fall of wine into the bitter. The fundamental difference with the Venetian Spritz is the use of still white wine instead of Prosecco.
Recipe: 60 ml still white wine – 45 ml Aperol – Splash of soda
Mi-To, Milan and Turin
The name of this drink is related to the ingredients which represent the two cities that are the protagonists: Turin’s Vermouth and Milan’s Campari. Its preparation is connected to two big names when it comes to alcoholic beverages, they are Benedetto Carpano and Gaspare Campari. The former, as previously mentioned, is the inventor of Vernouth; the latter is the man who in 1862 opened in Milan the Campari Cafè, where the Campari bitter was served, an aperitif with an original recipes destined to make history. By mixing these ingredients the MiTo comes to be.
Recipe: 45 ml Bitter Campari – 45 ml red Vermouth – an orange slice
Americano, Milan
The Americano is the father of many cocktails but it’s origins are unclear. According to some this too was an invention by Gaspare Campari. The story goes that some American tourists asked for soda to be added to the Milano-Torino. Another theory is that it was dedicated to the Italian boxer Primo Carnera also called “l’americano” for his many wins across the pond. Whatever the case, its fame is unamatched, unsurprisingly it is one of James Bond’s favorite drinks.
Recipe: 30 ml Bitter Campari – 30 ml red Vermouth – Splash of soda – An orange slice – Lemon peel
Negroni, Florence
Considered one of the most popular Italian aperitif drinks at international level, Negroni was born in Florence in 1919. In the old workshop Caffe Casono, the barman Fosco Scarselli tried an idea that the Count Camillo Negroni – from which the name comes – had had: the royal, returned from one of his trips overseas, asked an Americano with the addition of gin, hence the famous aperitif came to be.
Recipe: 30 ml Gin – 30 ml Bitter Campari – 30 ml red Vermouth – An orange slice
Negroni Sbagliato, Milan
Bar Basso is a true institution in the Milan high life and has revolutionized the way people from Milan have their aperitif. The story goes that in 1972 the barman Mirko Stocchetto, who was busy preparing a Negroni, took by mistake a bottle of spumante di instead of gin and thus created the lighter version of the drink which is called Sbagliato (Italian word for wrong).
Recipe: 30 ml Spumante brut – 30 ml Bitter Campari – 30 ml red Vermouth – An orange slice
Bellini, Venice
The Bellini was invented in a famous bar in Venice, Harry’s Bar in 1948. This place was frequented by many celebrities such as Ernest Hemingway, Aristotele Onassis, Orson Wells and many others. The Barman Giuseppe Cipriani, inspired by the pink hues of the works by Venetian artist Giovan Battista Bellini, prepared a simple but refined combining peach nectar with Spumante.
Recipe: 100 ml Prosecco – 50 ml White peach purée
Garibaldi, Novara
The Garibaldi is an Italian aperitif drink that, just like its name, stands for the unification of Italy. In fact, it’s recipe includes two ingredients: the Campari bitter which comes from the north of Italy, and the oranges from Sicily to represent the south of the country. This drink, fresh and fruity, is also known as Campari Orange.
Recipe: 40 ml Bitter Campari – 60 ml orange juice
Hugo, Naturno
The Hugo is one of those Italian aperitif drinks born in modern times and that became a hit straight away. It was created in Trentino-Alto Adige in 2005 by Roland Gruber, it has been conceived as an alternative, lighter and more refreshing, to Spritz. Its main ingredient is in fact elderflower syrup which takes you straight to a mountain setting.
Recipe: 60 ml Prosecco – 60 ml Seltz – 30 ml Elderflower syrup – Mint leaves
Featured Image: Erasmus
