Italian Drinks (Alcoholic Drinks, Liqueurs, Liquors, Aperitifs, Digestifs)

Limoncello (also called Limoncino)

A strong lemon liquor produced in Southern Italy, originally in the region around the Gulf of Naples, but which can now be found almost everywhere in Italy. It is made from lemon zest, alcohol, water, and sugar. It is bright yellow in color, sweet and lemony, but not sour since it contains no lemon juice. It can turn out bitter if the lemon rinds were peeled to grossly. Limoncello is traditionally served chilled as an after dinner digestivo. The best limoncello is made with the lemons of Amalfi.

Fragolino (strawberry liquor), Maraschino (cherry liquor) and Nocino (nut liquor) are similar Italian liqueurs made of strawberries, cherries and nuts respectively.

Aperitifs and cocktails

Famous Italian brands of aperitifs include Martini, Cinzano, Campari and Aperol.

Martini exists as white, sweet or dry, and red vermouth, and is originally from Turin. There are many variations of martinis. The three most popular are dry, sweet and medium.

Cinzano, which also originated in Turin, is a sweet or dry vermouth (bitterer than Martini).

Campari (a sweet-bitter, red vermouth) was created in Milan. It was named after its inventor, Davide Campari who invented his drink in a Caffè at Piazza del Duomo in 1860. It can be served undiluted or mixed with mineral water, soda or white wine.

Aperol is another Italian brand of aperitif from the Campari company, which is made of bitter orange, gentian and rhubarb.

Prosecco is also served for aperitif as a local equivalent to champagne.

Bellini, a glamorous long-drink cocktail invented by Giuseppe Cipriani, bartender at Harry's bar, Venice in 1934, and made of sparkling wine (prosecco or champagne) and peach puree. Apparently, it were the vivid paintings with pink hues by Giovanni Bellini that inspired Giuseppe Cipriani to name his invention after the artisit. It was Hemingway's favorite aperitif when in Venice.

Montgomery, a very dry martini with a proportion of gin to vermouth of fifteen to one. Apparently Hemingway called the long-drink this way in reference to the famed British General Bernard Montgomery who was said to have endured the same proportion when he lead his soldiers to fight against the enemy during World War II.

A variation of the Negroni is the Camparinette which consists of two parts of Gin to one part each of Martini and Campari. Campari may be replaced by Aperol for a stronger taste.

The Harry's Bar Cookbook
by Harry Cipriani
Harry's Bar in Venice is one of those places that everyone needs to visit at least once when in Italy. Cipriani, second-generation owner of the eponymous Venice institution, provides one of the most inviting Italian cookbooks with the recipes of the famous Bellini and appetizers as well as dishes served at Harry's bar.
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Negroni, a popular Italian cocktail made of equal parts of Gin, Bitter Campari and Red Martini (purists prefer 1:1:0.75 proportions of each respectively) shaken with ice and strained into a cocktail glass. The glass is garnished with a "burnt" orange twist (the typical campari garnish). The twist is burnt by holding a flame above the glass, squeezing the orange peel firmly which causes the oils of the peel to be released by the flames and adds a burnt orange flavor to the drink.

According to a popular story, the drink was invented by Count Camillo Negroni, at Caffè Casoni, in Florence in 1919, but the true origin remains uncertain. The Count presumably wanted to stiffen up his favorite drink, the Americano, by adding some Gin to it.

Digestifs, Liqueurs and Liquors

Popular Italian digestifs and liqueurs are the grappa, amaro and amaretto, centerba, strega, genepi and sambuca.

Grappa is a liquor made from fermented peels, seeds and stems of grapes. It has a high alcoholic percentage and is transparent as water. It can be found natural or with various flavors (pears, prunes, and herbs).

Genepi is a liquor produced in the Alps and the Aoste Valley

Strega is a yellow, sweet liqueur with a slight after taste of anice. It contains aromatic herbs, sugar and safran.

Sweet dessert wines and port-like wines

Sweet and port-like wines are also served as digestifs in certain parts of Italy. Typical sweet wines served as digestifs are marsala and vinsanto or other passito wines, such as Sciachetrà from Cinque Terre and Passito di Pantelleria. Passito wine was presumably invented by the Punicians, who invented the recipe for the passum. Passito is made from dried grapes, which gives it its characteristic taste and concentration. More about sweet dessert wines and other Italian sweet wines.

Photos of the YourGuidetoItaly.com banner (from left to right): (on campus) Sean Locke, (red deckchair) Valentina Jori, (chianti botlle) Donald Gruener, (Vitruvian man) Jodie Coston, (coliseum), Roberto A Sanchez, (Fiat 500) Luca di Filippo. Photo of Martini cocktails, Bellini and Negroni by Ivan Mateev.

The Professional Bartender's Handbook:
A Recipe for Every Drink Known - Including Tricks and Games to Impress Your Guests
by Valerie Mellema
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The classical, dry martini should be made with dry vermouth and be garnished with green olives. The sweet martini is made with sweet vermouth and garnished with a cherry. The medium is made with both dry and sweet martini and can be garnished with cocktail onion, or lemon twist.