More than just a drink, an apéritif is a social event, an attitude, a time of day, and an integral part of French, Italian, British, and other cultures.
Read on, and we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the apéritif, a time-honored tradition that is starting to catch fire here in America.
What is an apéritif?
An apéritif (pronounced a-peh-ruh-TEEF) is a drink enjoyed before a meal in order to rouse the appetite. In fact, the name comes from the Latin word aperire, which means “to open”—the idea being that an apéritif opens the stomach and readies it to fully enjoy the food that follows.
A wide range of drinks can be enjoyed as apéritifs (apéros for short), but most of them have a few characteristics in common:
1. Apéritifs tend to be light and refreshing. Champagne or sparkling wine, vermouth, fino, or Aperol spritz are popular and refreshing apéritifs.
2. Apéritifs usually have a relatively low alcohol content. Recent trends have even included apéritifs with no alcohol at all.
3. Apéritifs are usually dry rather than sweet. While sherry is a popular apéritif, it’s usually a dry sherry rather than something sweet like an oloroso. Sweet beverages are reserved for after the meal.
Often served with finger foods like crackers, olives, or cheese, apéritifs aren’t meant to make you feel full or tipsy. Remember, the idea is just to whet the appetite and get you ready to eat.
How are apéritifs and digestifs different?
The most obvious difference is that apéritifs are enjoyed before a meal while digestifs are taken after diners are done eating. Where apéritifs are thoughts to “open” the appetite, digestifs are intended to aid in digestion.
Digestifs characteristically have a higher alcohol content than apéritifs and are considerably stronger and/or sweeter. Cognac or brandy are popular digestifs, as are whiskey, scotch, and various dessert wines.
Why are apéritifs significant?
If you’ve spent time in Europe and seen how apéritifs are enjoyed there, you know that they’re much more than a drink; they’re part of a dining tradition that goes back farther than the ancient Greeks. Today, in Italy, the period between 6 pm and 9 pm is known as the “apéritivo hour” when bars, restaurants, and cafes serve light foods and drinks before patrons begin their main meal. (If you’re bothered by the fact that this so-called “hour” actually goes on for three hours or more, you’re missing the point!)
In cultures that have embraced apéritifs, the whole idea of dining is different from our American customs. In Paris, Madrid, London, or Rome, for example, meals aren’t meant to be rushed through. Dining is seen as an opportunity to enjoy the company of friends and family as well as great food and drink, and Europeans are in no hurry to end the meal quickly. In France, l’heure de l’apéro (the apéro hour) signals the end of the work day, time to sit down and relax with good company, a few appetizers, and a cold apéritif to get the evening rolling.
It's easy to see why the apéritif is a treasured part of so many cultures.
Where does the aperitif come from?
Vermouth
Historically, the apéritif goes back thousands of years, but the history of the modern apéritif really began in 1786. That’s when an Italian distiller named Antonio Benedetto Carpano infused white wine with over 30 herbs and spices to create a drink he called vermouth (after the High German word wermut, meaning “wormwood”). Unlike similar concoctions that other distillers made, Carpano didn’t market his drink as a medicine. Instead, he used a high-quality wine and marketed it as a drink for the upper class. He began selling it from his shop directly opposite the Royal Palace in Turin. He even sent a crate of his creation to King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia who loved it so much that it was adopted as the official royal apéritif.
After that, the popularity of Carpano’s vermouth exploded. All over Italy and France, distillers began to experiment with their own versions using different local herbs and spices. Eventually, vermouth divided into two main types: French vermouth (which is white and dry) and Italian vermouth (which is red and sweet). Today, vermouth is a key ingredient in many cocktails including martinis, Manhattans, negronis, and Rob Roys, and Carpano is considered the father of the modern apéritif.
Quinquinas
Sixty years later, the development of modern apéritifs took another major turn.
At that time, France was fighting a war in North Africa, and thousands of French Foreign Legion soldiers were dying of malaria. It was well known that drinking quinine could help prevent malaria, but quinine tastes nasty. The French government offered a prize to anyone who could come up with the best wine-based drink that contained quinine, so they could get their soldiers to drink it.
That prize went to Joseph Dubonnet, a French chemist who invented an apéritif that not only masked the taste of quinine but actually tasted good! The apéritif would go on to become a favorite drink for many, including Queen Elizabeth II who enjoyed a Dubonnet with gin every day. Out of Dubonnet’s drink developed a whole family of apéritifs called “quinquinas.” Keep your eyes on this page, and soon we’ll feature a special quinquina apéritif, the Americano.
What are the most popular apéritifs?
The world of apéritifs has grown far beyond what we can cover in one article, but here’s an overview of some of the most popular apéritifs today.
Campari
This Italian apéritif has come to be so popular that you can recognize its signature bright red color on any bartender’s shelf. Although its ingredients have been a closely guarded secret since its invention in 1860, its distinctive bitter taste is well-known. It is a key component of many popular cocktails, including the negroni, Napolean, boulevardier, and Americano (which, as we said, we’ll be featuring soon). If you aren’t accustomed to bitter drinks, it can be pretty strong taken straight, but mixing it with chilled soda can make it pleasantly palatable
Sherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made in southern Spain. There are several different varieties, but the drier kinds like fino or manzanilla make the best apéritifs. Their various levels of flavor, from savory to herbaceous, are wonderful for waking up the tongue.
Port
Port is another fortified wine (traditionally from Portugal) and is often a sweet red dessert wine. However, white and tawny ports make excellent apéritifs..
Lillet
Lillet is considered a quinquina since it originally contained quinine, but ever since it was reformulated in 1986, it’s not clear whether Lillet still has quinine in it. Still, it’s very popular and was a favorite of fictional character James Bond. This wine tastes fruity but not especially sweet, so it’s great for arousing your gustatory curiosity.
Aperol
Made by the same company that produces Campari, this Italian bittersweet liqueur is orange instead of red and is less bitter-tasting than its brother. It tastes more citrusy and has a lower alcohol content, so it arguably makes an even better apéritif. Aperol has been called “Campari with training wheels.” Mix it with Prosecco and club soda and you have yourself an Aperol spritz. Or check out Bacchus owner Kaleb Craft’s favorite Aperol cocktail, the Aperol enzoni.
Absinthe
Absinthe tastes like black licorice, so some people love it and some hate it. Either way, it has a wild history that certainly makes it one of the most interesting apéritifs.
Sparkling Wine
From kir royales to mimosas to spritzes to bellinis, the range of apéritifs you can make with sparkling wine or champagne is immense.
Beer
If you’re a beer fan, there’s nothing wrong with choosing a light beer for your apéritif party. The acidity of the bubbles and the bitterness of hops can wake up the palate. Most dark beers are going to be overwhelming at the beginning of a meal, though, so steer away from anything malty, barrel-aged, or with a high alcohol content.
If you really want to turn heads with your apéritif choice, consider a beermosa or some other beer cocktail.
Whatever apéritif tickles your palate, we hope it will help bring you the joy of the the “apéritivo hour”—no matter how many hours it takes.
Saluti.