5 Cocktails Made in Italy

The word aperitivo derives from the Latin "aperitivus", meaning "opener" (to open the stomach for the meal), thus a drink that stimulates gastric juices, helping digestion.
In this sense, the aperitivo dates back to the times of the Ancient Greeks, when the physician Hippocrates administered to his patients a bitter drink called vinum hippocratum, made from white wine, dittany flowers and rue, to treat the lack of appetite.
Medieval herbalists later confirmed that it was precisely that bitter taste that stimulated appetite, which is why even today, aperitivo drinks are mostly made with bitters.
While aperitivo was originally seen as a "cure", since 1786 it has become an important moment of gathering and sharing. All thanks to Antonio Benedetto Carpano, the inventor of a wine flavored with herbs that became the aperitivo par excellence, the official drink of the Court of King Vittorio Emanuele II: Vermouth.
This wine spread to all the cafés of Turin, accompanied by small snacks, and soon began to be mixed with other drinks, giving rise to the creation of countless different cocktails. Another key ingredient of the aperitivo was in fact the bitter invented by Gaspare Campari in 1860.

Italians love aperitivo, an important moment of socialization and a prelude to the meal. It's therefore not surprising that some of the most famous cocktails, protagonists of the aperitivo, originated in our country. Italian cocktails date back mostly to the early 20th century, when experimentation with mixology began; each of these drinks has its own particular history, often linked to historical places and figures.
Here are 5 classic cocktails Made in Italy:

SPRITZ
Spritz is now synonymous with aperitivo in Italy. It is, in fact, the most beloved and consumed drink among Italians during this time of day. Often times, to arrange an aperitivo with friends and family, they simply say "Shall we go out for a Spritz?"
This drink originated between the late 1700s and early 1800s, during the period of Austrian rule in northern Italy. Habsburg soldiers found Venetian wines too strong, so they began diluting them with sparkling water to sweeten the flavor. From this custom of "sprinkling" wine with water (the German verb is "spritzen") the name Spritz was born.
However, the cocktail as we know it today was born when someone decided to add Campari bitter to Prosecco wine.
Since then, other variations have were created, the most famous of which is the Aperol Spritz, which, as the name suggests, is mixed with Aperol, a beverage that makes the drink much sweeter.

AMERICANO
Not to be confused with the coffee drink with the same name, the Americano is another cocktail born in northern Italy, more precisely in Lombardy. This drink was invented in 1860 by Cesare Campari and consists of Campari and red Vermouth, poured into a glass over ice, with a splash of soda water and a slice of lemon.
The cocktail was originally called "Milano-Torino" and contained only Vermouth and Campari. However, it evolved with the arrival of the Americans, who were accustomed to long drinks and found it too bitter so they requested soda water be added.

NEGRONI
This drink originated in our Florence, when in 1919, Count Camillo Negroni asked the bartender at a downtown bar to modify an Americano by adding Gin. The bartender also added an orange garnish instead of lemon. From then on, the count drank nothing else, and the cocktail became popular under the name Negroni.

BELLINI
In 1948, at the famous Harry's Bar in Venice, Giuseppe Cipriani created the refined Bellini drink, composed of two parts Prosecco and one part white peach puree. The name derives from its pink color, reminescent of the color shades used by Renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini.

HUGO
Prosecco, lemon or elderflower syrup, soda water, mint leaves, and lime slices: this is the recipe for the Hugo, created in 2005 by bartender Roland Gruber in Trentino-Alto Adige. A refreshing cocktail inspired by the Spritz, it exudes the influence of the mountain air. However, the origins of the name "Hugo" are unclear, perhaps given in honor of a frequenter of the bar.