The most popular Italian drinks for aperitif are Vermouth and Aperol. Vermouth was the favorite of Vittorio Emanuelle II, the king of Italy in the 17th century. The aperitif drink turned into a ritual for most Italians. You can eat something with any bitter drink.
Most Popular Italian Aperitivo Drinks
Spritz – Aperol or Campari, prosecco, club soda, ice and slice of orange. Americano – sweet vermouth, Campari, club soda, ice and slice of orange or lemon. Negroni – gin, sweet vermouth, Campari and orange peel.
Aperitivo is known to be an excellent drink that prepares the digestive system before one sits down for a delicious Italian dinner. Mostly served as a pre-dinner drink, it is often enjoyed at the local bars where people relax after a long day of work.
Classic aperitifs include dry vermouth and white wine, fizz and bitter drinks such as Campari. Cocktails including martinis, G&Ts, spritzes and negronis are also great pre-dinner tipples.
Many of the best aperitifs include gin, vermouth, or a dry wine. There are also bitters such as Campari and Aperol that have long been used as appetite stimulants on their own. They can be used to make some very interesting cocktails as well. There are many possibilities when it comes to choosing an aperitif cocktail.
Aperitifs are typically low-ABV liqueurs and spirits that are meant to be drunk before a meal. Within that broad category, you can find vermouth, pastis, sherry, amaro, or even Champagne. Traditionally, an aperitif is meant to stimulate your appetite before eating.
Between 6:00 and 8:00pm, just before dinner, it is the Italian aperitivo time. Aperitivo is a drink and a snack or small bite before dinner. If having aperitivo out, the typical price of €10.00 usually includes the food and one drink.
Simply put, the Italian digestif or digestivo is an alcoholic drink served after dinner to help with digestion.
Limoncello, the lemon zest-infused liqueur of the southern Italian coast, does double duty. It's fairly common to see it enjoyed as an aperitivo with some prosecco or sparkling water as a spritz, but it's most classically considered an after-dinner drink.
Aperol Spritz Cocktail (Spritz Veneziana)
It's an Italian favorite containing Aperol, dry prosecco, club soda, and an orange slice served over ice. A Spritz Veneziano (or Spritz Italiano), also called just a Venice cocktail, is one of the most popular Italian drinks.
An aperitivo is a pre-meal drink; the experience of aperitivo is a cultural ritual. Derived from the Latin aperire, the tradition is meant “to open” the stomach before dining.
Digestivi (“digestives,” in English) are often in the class of amari, or Italian bitters. Amari are made by infusing grape brandy with a blend of herbs, flowers, aromatic roots and bark, citrus peels, and spices. The infused brandy is then sweetened with sugar syrup and aged for a few weeks up to a few years.
What are the most popular Italian liqueurs? Although Aperol is seemingly everywhere now, Campari is arguably Italy's most popular aperitivo liqueur. This bitter red Italian liqueur works just as well with a splash of soda as it does in some of Italy's most famous cocktails – from the Americano to the Negroni.
Thou shalt only drink cappuccino, caffé latte, latte macchiato or any milky form of coffee in the morning, and never after a meal. Italians cringe at the thought of all that hot milk hitting a full stomach. An American friend of mine who has lived in Rome for many years continues, knowingly, to break this rule.
After a traditional Italian meal or dinner you are likely to be offered a 'digestivo' aka an Italian digestive drink (digestif). Italian digestivo are alcoholic after dinner drinks, usually served in a small glass, straight, as a shot.
Simply put, digestivo is an alcoholic drink served at the end of the meal which over time, in Italy, has become a proper tradition.
11:00pm – Midnight.
"Buon appetito" is an italian phrase said before and during a meal, thus, it is certainly categorized as an eating phrase.
Pretty much any dry alcoholic drink (white wine, vermouth, martini…) or anything fizzy and slightly tart (Prosecco, gin and tonic, Aperol spritz…) is technically classed as an aperitif.
An aperitif needs to stimulate the appetite and make your tummy rumble for the food being served. As such, it should really be something very dry - that is, very low in sugar. Sweet drinks will inhibit the appetite and put you off savoury dishes, so anything sticky or sickly is a real 'no' in this respect.
So, what is an aperitif? It's a pre-dinner alcoholic drink that is meant to stimulate one's appetite (as opposed to a digestif, which aids digestion). Typical choices are light and fizzy drinks, often with a hint of bitters (like Campari or Aperol), but sparkling wine is a popular choice, as well.