From the classic Negroni to the lesser-known Garibaldi cocktail, World Cocktail Day on 13th May is a great occasion to mix up a storm of Italian-inspired cocktails and thank their creators for inventing them, even if it was just by mistake sometimes.
Italy might be famous for pasta, pizza, and gelato but you can be sure Italians are the masterminds behind some of the world’s most popular cocktails too.
Do you know the story of these classic Italian cocktails?
Negroni
Legend has it, the Negroni was invented at Café Casoni in Florence in 1919. It is Count Camillo Negroni to be hold responsible for the drink. The noblemen demanded the bartender to come up with a stronger version of the equally classic Americano cocktail. Done as requested, the bartender served Count Camillo a cocktail with gin instead of soda.
Serves 1
30 ml gin
30 ml Campari
30 ml sweet vermouth
garnish: orange peel
Pour all ingredients in a cocktail glass over ice. Stir gently and garnish with an orange peel.
Negroni spagliato
The ‘wrong’ Negroni as the name already hints, is the result of a mistake. Sometime around the late 1960s or early 1970s, bartender Mirko Stocchetto who worked at Bar Basso in Milan mistakenly poured prosecco instead of gin and thus the Negroni spagliato was born.
Serves 1
30 ml prosecco
30 ml Campari
30 ml sweet Vermouth
garnish: orange peel
Pour the Campari and Vermouth in a cocktail glass over ice. Stir gently, top up with the prosecco and garnish with an orange peel.
Bellini
Two ingredients, one fantastic summer cocktail.
And who does not have heard (or possibly visited) famous Harry’s Bar in Venice?
The delicious Bellini was invented in Venice by Guiseppe Cipriani, the founder of Harry’s Bar. He named the drink Bellini because the slightly pinkish colour shade of the original drink remained him of the toga of a saint in a painting by local artist Giovanni Bellini.
Today, you will mostly find the Bellini to be rather yellow or orange shaded. That’s because over time the additional raspberry or cherry juice that was used in the original recipe was omitted. Instead, the drink is now usually made with peach puree only.
Using freshly pureed peaches gives the Bellini a very refreshing fruit-forward flavour making it a perfect drink for warm summer evenings.
As a final observation, the original recipe askes for white peaches. However, yellow peaches will work equally well.
Serves 5
4 fresh ripe peaches
1 bottle of prosecco
Dip the fresh peaches into boiling water for about 15-20 seconds. Peel off the skin, slice in half and eliminate the pit. Place in a blender and puree the peaches until smooth.
Put the peach puree in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until ready to serve the drink.
Add 60 ml peach puree into a champagne flute, then top up with the prosecco slowly. Stir lightly to combine.
Rossini
Since fresh peaches are not available year-round, during strawberry season swap the peaches with ripe strawberries. In Italy, this version is the most popular alternative to the classic Bellini.
Named after famous Italian 19th century composer Gioachino Rossini, which is known for his ‘bubbly’ compositions. However, the name also heavily plays with the red colour of the drink.
The classic Bellini tastes best with fresh peaches but the Rossini asking for strawberry puree it works equally well with frozen strawberries.
The below recipe also adds vodka to the mix, which in my opinion gives the drink an extra splash. However, it will taste perfectly delicious without as well.
Serves 5
450 g fresh, ripe strawberries
50 g sugar
juice of half a lemon
75 ml vodka (optional)
1 bottle of prosecco
Wash the strawberries and cut in half. Put in a blender with the sugar and lemon juice and puree until smooth.
Put the puree into the freezer for about 30 minutes or until needed.
Add 60 ml strawberry puree into a champagne flute, add 15 ml of vodka, than top up carefully with prosecco.
Aperol Spritz
Perhaps the most internationally known Italian aperitive, Aperol Spritz was invented in 1919 (which seems to be a good year for creating cocktails) by bartender brothers Barbieri in Padua, close to Venice. Which is likely the reason that especially in Italy the drink is often referred to as Spritz Veneziano.
Serves 1
80 ml Aperol
120 ml prosecco
30 ml club soda
garnish: orange slice
In a glass over ice add the Aperol, prosecco, and club soda. Stir gently and garnish with an orange slice.
Hugo
A more recent invention, the Hugo cocktail was created around 2005 by bartender Roland Gruber in a bar in South Tyrol as an alternative to the classic Aperol Spritz.
The refreshing drink became quickly popular and today is served in bars around the world.
Serves 1
30 ml elderflower syrup
1190 ml prosecco
5-6 fresh mint leaves
club soda to top up
garnish: lime slice
Muddle the mint leaves slightly. Add to a cocktail glass and fill with ice. Add the elderflower syrup and prosecco and top up with a splash of club soda.
Garibaldi
Also known as Campari Orange, the drink is named after Italy’s famous revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, the leading figure in the unification of Italy.
The drink is based on bright red Campari which reflect the red skirts of the Garibaldi troops.
Serves 1
45 ml Campari
120 ml orange juice
garnish: orange wheel
In a glass over ice, add Campari and orange juice. Slightly stir and garnish with an orange wheel.
Do you have a favourite Italian cocktail? Which one?
Carrots and Tigers 