Italy has many, many, many things to enjoy. If you aren’t taken up in the culture, the history, or the sheer beauty of the place, you will undoubtedly get lost in the amazing food and wine, which is cheap and delicious just about everywhere you go. Cocktails can be an overlooked part of the usual Italian experience unless one makes it a point to search them out.

A quick trip around Italy and you can find a plethora of cocktails dating back as far as the mid 1800′s; some that are as widely enjoyed today as they were 100 years ago, some new, and some that might be considered foundations for the modern cocktail revival. We give to you a few to ponder and enjoy the next time you are feeling continental. Toeing the usual tourist trail, we started north and worked our way to Rome. The South will have to be a second trip…

Upon finding a table at a cafe, nestled in a busy piazza in Venice, we noticed that a large number of people were drinking an orange tinted drink with an olive and orange slice in it. Our server waved her left hand around dismissively when we asked what it was, saying in Italian-tinged English, “Is an Aperol Spreeetz. Is very common drink.” Low in alcohol and easy to toss back, we understood why locals weren’t afraid to squeeze a couple in during a late lunch. Most commonly made with Aperol, it is equally tasty with other apertifs if you are feeling adventurous. The cocktails we had were garnished with fresh olives, not soaked in brine, so if you don’t have a fresh one available consider leaving it off.

Aperol Spritz
2 oz Aperol
3 oz Prosecco
Splash of soda water

Build in an old fashioned glass with ice. Quick stir, garnish with a fresh olive and slice of orange.

A stop in Milan necessitates an Americano. First imbibed in the 1860′s at Milanese mixologist Garspare Campari’s bar in Milan, it originally carried the name Milano-Torino because of where its ingredients hailed from, but was dubbed “Americano” during Prohibition because of its popularity amongst Yankees visiting Italy. Relatively simple, it doesn’t have the complexity that many modern cocktails have, but that just might be the beauty of it.

Americano
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth
club soda

Build cocktail in old fashioned glass with ice, garnish with a lemon twist or orange slice.

We made is a point to stop by the supposed birthplace of the, Negroni, Caffé Giacosa. The Caffé, now auspiciously owned by fashion designer Roberto Cavalli, is nestled in the main shopping district of Florence. Six different “negroni’s” grace the menu, which also includes nibbles and a smattering of other cocktails. We opted to try the original recipe and the Negrunge, simply because it is the house specialty version. The substitution of dry for sweet vermouth and the addition of bitters and mandarin liqueur are nice, but we prefer the original. (We will ALWAYS love your shoes though, Robert.)

Negroni
1½ oz gin
1½ oz Campari
1½ oz sweet vermouth

Stir all ingredients with ice, strain into ice-filled old fashioned glass or cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel.

Finally, when in Rome, so as the Romans do, right? Sure there are famously green counterparts to Centerba, but if you enjoy a good shot of Chartreuse, chances are you will like the robust, herbal flavor of this Italian digestif. It can be used in the place of its French brethren in cocktails (we are thinking corpse reviver here), but we have yet to find an original cocktail calling for Centerba. So, while not for the meek or the sweet-seeking, we are sipping a Centerba on the rocks after dinner tonight.

Cheers!

cocktails Italy