Italian Cocktails, Mocktails and Liqueurs

Cocktail hours and aperitivi have always been a beloved way to get together and socialize.
Italian cocktails and mocktails are frequently low alcohol content and often with a hint of bitter flavor. This is changing with globalization. Italian cocktails and mocktails are now beginning to take on an international flare and resemble those you’d see in the United States and elsewhere.

Aperitivi during lockdown

So how do we socialize during lockdown?
Yesterday evening I was at a virtual aperitivo with a group of 25 women from Italy, coast to coast USA, Israel and who knows where else! It was great fun and it might be something we continue even after lockdown. We did it with Zoom, a wonderful app that is used both professionally and socially for virtual get-togethers.
A few days ago I had a virtual cocktail get-together with a group of four girlfriends, and we used WhatsApp video.
But let’s get down to business and talk about the cocktails I made for these virtual get-togethers!

I used ingredients I had on hand and came up with two great gin cocktails. If you’re not feeling creative grab a great cocktail book like this one! It’s the Kindle version so you can get it online – great during lockdown!

Both of the cocktails used frozen blueberries and frozen cranberries as a tasty garnish.

Pomegranate Gin Cocktail
For one of my drinks I used frozen pomegranate juice from our trees, from last season. I added an ounce of gin and voilà!

Lemon Gin Cocktail
For my second drink I used equal parts gin, simple syrup and fresh squeezed lemon juice – again from our trees.

Both cocktails were delicious and festive! Be sure to use nice cocktail glasses that add to the pleasure of your drink.
I far prefer the classic Italian cocktails and mocktails that Italians have been drinking for years, and that still are the favorites in Italy. And let’s not forget about Italy’s great wines!
My favorite by far is the Spritz cocktail: refreshing and light so you can drink as many as you like. The key ingredient is Aperol, one of the many Italian beverages with a hint of bitter flavor.

Aperol Spritz
Ingredients:
Three parts Prosecco, or any bubbly dry white wine
Two parts Aperol
A splash of sparkling water
A slice of orange
Procedure:
Pour the Prosecco, Aperol and sparkling water over ice.
Add a slice of orange and serve.

Campari Cocktails

Campari is the key ingredient in a few popular Italian cocktails. It’s great served on the rocks, or with soda water. Here are a few delicious Campari cocktails you might want to try:

Campari Orange
Ingredients:
One part Campari
Two parts orange juice
A slice of orange
Procedure:
Pour the Campari and orange juice over ice.
Add a slice of orange and serve.

Negroni – version 1
Ingredients:
One part Campari
One part Cinzano Rosso
One part gin
A slice of orange
Procedure:
Pour the Campari, Cinzano Rosso and gin over ice.
Stir, add a slice of orange and serve

The world famous Martini & Rossi company has been making cocktail beverages and ingredients for a century and a half. They give the name to what is probably the best known and most loved cocktail worldwide, the martini.
Here’s how the company describes their startup on their website: “MARTINI® captures the spark that set two men on a lifelong quest to make their stamp on Italian culture. Alessandro Martini – a spirited entrepreneur with a global vision – and Luigi Rossi – a creative muse whose botanical fragrances would lure noses along Turin’s via Dora Grossa… The year was 1863 when their newfound partnership was manifested in their first vermouth: The MARTINI® Rosso. This original blend remains the same to this day.”
Martini e Rossi offers a slightly different version of the Negroni which is equally delicious.

Negroni – version 2
Ingredients:
One part Martini Rosso
One part Martini Bitter
One part Bombay Sapphire
A twist of orange peel

Mocktails

There are a few bottled mocktails, or nonalcoholic beverages, I like to have on hand for non-alcoholic drinkers: Crodino, Gingerino and San Bitter Rosso & Bianco. They come in little bottles and are fabulous splashed over ice with a slice of orange. Again, all of these beverages, like most cocktails and mocktails, have a slightly bitter flavor that is the signature taste in so many Italian beverages.

Liqueurs & Digestivi

Let’s not forget Italian liqueurs! There are absolutely dozens upon dozens of these, often homemade by  restaurateurs. Most Italian restaurants will offer you a liqueur, or digestivo (a beverage to help you digest your meal), following dinner. Once again the most common commercially produced liqueurs have a bitter flavor. Often you will simply be offered an amaro, or a bitter-flavored liqueur (amaro is the Italian word for bitter).
Another common digestivo is grappa. Grappa is made from the distilled grape skins and stems that remain following the wine-making process. When you travel around Italy to visit wineries and purchase wine you’ll see that every winemaker also produces his/her own grappa. Grappa is pure alcohol and is a wonderful way to end a meal!
Restaurant owners, monasteries and many individuals (myself included), make their own liqueurs. Italians take great pride in their liqueurs and love to show off what they’ve made. The most common of these are limoncello and arancello. A variety of berries, leaves, fruits and nuts are used to make all the many kinds of liqueurs.

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