Italy's Aperitivo

Sorry, but I couldn't read this article as I am not a subscriber. But I will say that aperitivo time for me is one of the great pleasures of Italy. It did take a couple of trips for me to discover that this early evening ritual added so much to my travels in Italy.

Interesting. Especially about Cynar -- (chee nar) -- a bitter in the amaro family.

Artichoke (plant) is stated to be a predominant ingredient. I love artichokes, but no, lol.

I have taste-tested some aperitifs. I don't care for the bitter taste or in a couple of tastes, "medicinal-like." I realize most are meant to be digestivo. They just don't agree with me.

A friends at the Roman restaurant I frequented, gave me a little flute of Amaro to try one night after dinner. I sipped it and barely finished it (to be polite.) I did not like it. Too strong and medicinal.

I will stick to my Pinot Grigio (which I really enjoy); Limoncello (ice cold); and Bellinis. lol

"Holy Water" Batman! How could I forget Prosecco?! Add that to my sweet list :) Delicious.

Gee Sempre, I was able to read it, and I am not a subscriber. Sometimes, the NYT "allows" a certain number of articles to be read "free" for the month. When that is exhausted, perhaps that is when a reader can't pull up the whole article?

Thanks Girasole, I will take a look at that. Back to the aperitivo, I personally have grown to enjoy Aperol Spritz, although I am also partial to Bellini alla Pesca (peach). It just feels so civilized to me to sit with a drink and munch a bit while people/place watching.

It just feels so civilized to me to sit with a drink and munch a bit while people/place watching.

Sure does!

I can't read it either and I haven't opened the NYTimes in months. C'est la vie. I will need to make an effort to sit with an aperitivo, or stand for cicchetti when in Venice. Just not my style to people watch, but I will try. I am also not familiar with digestivo flavours so maybe I will need to do some pre-travel 'home work'.

MariaF, As I mentioned, personally I found the aperitifs to be too strong for me. I guess I am more on the sweeter side, lol.

PHD Rooftop in NYC now has Apertivo Tuesday's, they deck out the rooftop to look like Italy and serve Italy inspired drinks and food. I've not been there but have no reviews, but the Apertivo has definitely come across the waters. I don't love Aperol Spritz and thought I would in Italy but my ALL time favorite drink in Italy was Lemon Spritz, I drank them daily. A little lemonchello and prosecco...boy do I miss Italy!!

Here is what the rooftop looks like:
https://www.phdterrace.com/photos/venue-photos/#

Lemon Spritz, I drank them daily. A little lemonchello and prosecco...

Definitely a thumbs up! I love, love Lemon "anything" - almost everything, lol.

Thanks for the reminder.

Wow, beautiful rooftop lounge. Bookmarking that one.

"Aperitivo — the habit of a drink with friends in the early evening — was actually imported from the United States and Britain"

Well, I don't know if that is true or not. However, like many things, including the tomato, Italians have made it their own and improved (in my opinion) upon it. Lemon Spritz...haven't tried that one, I will add it to my very short list.

Aperitivi started in the 19th Century in Italy in Torino when the King ( Savoy family) held meetings in the so-called historical cafés with Cavour or Garibaldi.
It is also the Italians who invented the vermouth with Campari, Martini e Ramazzotti. The most traditional Aperitivo are in the North of Italy ( mainly Torino and Milano) and are served with Stuzzichini and all sorts of appetizers bagna cauda and it is a proper meal full of different things. Prosecco or apéritives made of Prosecco and sth such as the Bellini are also Italian. In other ties, Aperitivi consist of just one or two drinks

Some of the drinks mentioned in the posts sound more like the after-dinner digestivo than the before-dinner aperitivo. I hope someone who knows more than I do can clarify.

I believe Amaro is a digestivo, which I had after dinner at a restaurant in Rome. The various spritz drinks, I think, are aperitivi. Limoncello, as far as I can tell, is served as both an aperitvo before dinner or after as a digestivo. I'm sure someone else here has more knowledge than I do about various drinks.

In the North of Italy, I discovered a "Hugo" spritz.
Elderflower cordial or liqueur, Prosecco, and soda water.
The glass is filled up with a huge amount of mint first, plus ice.
It's really yummy!

Cynar and Fernet Branca are amari digestivi for sure. You drink those at the end of a (belly busting) meal.
I make spritz with Prosecco, Aperol (or Crodino), and seltz water (very little, if I have it, otherwise none). Crodino is not available in the US (at least not around here) but Aperol is (at BevMo).

failed to find a common name for it

Trivially... Spumante?

JC, Severgnini is not aging well! In Turin The commemorative plaque that Says where Vermouth was first created is older than 1963!

It's true that After WWII aperitivo quit being a "before theatre" rite (0.05% of the population could afford both things) and became an "After office work-before dinner" thing. The new middle class declined aperitivo "the American Way" drinking imported spirits. Because, you know: Everything Made in USA was cooler in the 50s; but aperitivo has an Italian name because it was an Italian thing.

On Google maps You can see the biggest Punt&Mes in the world just in front of the old Porta Susa station in Turin.

held meetings in the so-called historical cafés with Cavour or Garibaldi.

The King who supposedly held meetings with Cavour saw Garibaldi as a republican outlaw and dreamt of him sentenced to death in a Piedmont Court and quickly hanged. I strongly doubt they cheerfully had an aperitivo all together. Besides dreams, The Austrians would have immediately complained if the wannabe King of Italy had been seen in public with a rebel they did sentence to death.

I also doubt the King used to sit with Cavour in non formal occasions, they hated each other as much as Mr. Trump hates Mrs. Rodham Clinton.

Those cafes maybe were not historical in the 19th century, but I bet they are historical now.

Girasole, How nice of you to post the whole article. Looking forward to apertivo time this fall. We have learned not to have Negronis for apertivo- much energy for later.

Thank you, lol.

But I may have to delete it now. I think I made a boo boo posting the whole article. It may be against the guidelines.

I wanted to give peeps a chance to read it if it was blocked for them.

Update - I decided to delete the (full article) posts about the NYT article referenced by OP Steven above. I pasted it for those who had trouble pulling up the original link.

Hopefully, those that wanted to read it, did by now.

I find it odd that he mentions Negronis among the “bottles of brightly colored liquids.” A Negroni is a mixed drink ( cocktail), not something you buy in a bottle. My husband makes his with Punt y Mes (vermouth), good gin, and of course Campari.

Love this thread! Agree that the article mixes aperitivi and digestivi. Spritz are always a good before meal treat. I have become partial to cappelletti spritz instead of aperol. For my palate it's a better flavor. A classic is Campari and soda.

I am particularly fascinated by amari (plural) (translated as "bitters") which can be used in both. Classic amari are Ramazzotti, Meletti, Lucan and Averna. One my American Italian friends prefer is the Vecchio Amaro del Capo from Calabria. Very traditional and a pretty strong flavor.

One sommelier friend who introduced me to amari used what another friend calls the "gateway amaro" which is Nonino's Quintessentia. Nonino is best known for their grappa, but this is an amaro on the lighter side and works in both summer and winter for me. I like it better than limoncello because it has a fuller body to the taste and doesn't risk being too sweet.

Always fun to explore the variety of these top secret treats! You will find your favorite too!

Interesting article. I tried the Aperol Spritz and the Negroni it Italy and didn't care for either. However, Limoncello was a great discovery and I was thrilled to find it in our grocery store at home. The colder the better.

I'll look for Amaro. Is Amaretto a variant of that drink?

Amaro is a category of drink. Amaretto is a specific type of liqueur. Amaretto is sweet, so not so much an amaro as a regular liqueur along the lines of Midori and Fra Angelico

Amaretto di Saronno is the brand name of a famous liqueur drink.

Gli Amaretti (plural) are biscuits made with Sweet and bitter almonds. These days, some pastry chefs lightly flavour the mixture with a liqueur of their choice, but the original recipe was alcohol free.

Thanks for the above. I see that "amaro" means "bitter," so I'll look for it but with a little apprehension!

Dick, if you are worried, try the Nonino first. Sip and enjoy. A game we play, since we consider ourselves foodies, is "name that herb." Each amaro is concocted a little differently.

A restaurant in Denver Colorado that we enjoy, Sputino, mixes their own amaro. Every year it is different because the proprietor sources from Colorado mountains to decide what kind of home-made amaro he is going to make. Such fun! Especially when he let's us do a vertical tasting of the last few years!!