Local Restaurants Reinvent the Aperitivi
In the 1860s, at a bar in Milan, Italy, Gaspare Campari — the inventor of his namesake bittersweet herb and botanical-fortified wine — created a cocktail composed of one part Campari, one part red vermouth, and a splash of club soda with an orange-peel garnish. The drink was particularly popular among American tourists in Italy during Prohibition, and became known as the Americano.
In New York, mixologists at upscale Italian restaurants are reinventing aperitivi (liquors or cocktails meant to stimulate the appetite before a meal), adding a touch of aromatized wines or Italian bitters such as Campari, Aperol, Carpano Antica Formula, Punt e Mes, Cynar, and Amaro to American and Italian classics. In Italy, where wine is more popular than vodka, aperitivi tend to be light and bubbly and low in alcohol, with a touch of bitter Italian spirits topped off with club soda or prosecco. Aperitivo is also the word used to describe the practice of relaxing before dinner with a light drink and snack — bruschetta, salumi, olives, cheese, and other small bites.
The legend of the Negroni cocktail is that a count by that name wanted to put a little extra kick in his Americano, so he asked the bartender to add a shot of gin. At Dell'anima (38 Eighth Ave. at Jane Street, 212-366-6633), the Roasted Orange Negroni ($12) is made with Campari, Miller's gin, and Carpano Antica Formula, a revival of a 1789 recipe of sweet red vermouth first developed by Antonio Benedetto Carpano. The old recipe is so successful that this well-balanced wine makes a wonderful drink all by itself, with hints of cinnamon, cardamom, and anise. The cocktail contains muddled roasted orange, a flavor that complements the herbal flavors of the vermouth.
At A Voce (41 Madison Ave. at 26th Street, 212-545-8555), mixologist Mo Kotb chooses Carpano Antica as the sweet red vermouth in the Moda cocktail ($14). Based on the Old Fashioned, it incorporates Maker's Mark bourbon, Tuaca (a vanilla-citrus liqueur with roots in Tuscany), and orange bitters, with a dark cherry.
A mixologist at Insieme (777 Seventh Ave. at 51st Street, 212-582-1310), Marshall Altier, refers to Aperol as Campari's younger brother. It's "not as spicy, not quite as bitter as Campari, with more gentian and spice, with notes of grapefruit and other citrus," he said recently. Like Campari, Aperol has a red glow, which it lends to the Flashlight Cocktail at Alto (11 E. 53rd St., between Fifth and Madison avenues, 212-308-1099), a refreshing mixture of Aperol, lemon-flavored Acqua di Cendro liqueur, and lime juice ($12).
In Italy, Amaro is considered a digestivo (served at the end of a meal as an aid to digestion), but in New York, when it's added to cocktails, it becomes an aperitivo, according to Mr. Altier. At Insieme, he substitutes Averna Amaro from Sicily for vermouth in the Midtown Manhattan ($14), which also contains Rittenhouse Rye, Luxardo Maraschino, and bitters he infused in-house. "Every city and region [in Italy] has their own interpretation of Amaro," he said.
Many Italian restaurants in New York carry eight commercially available varieties of Amaro. The recipes are secret, but typically include some combination of herbs and roots infused in neutral spirits. Although all are recognizable as Amaro, brownish red and slightly syrupy with a bittersweet flavor and the aroma of spice, each one has a distinctive character when they are tasted side by side. Borsci Amaro San Marzano from Puglia, for instance, is a milder, entry-level Amaro with pronounced caramel flavors, and a good alternative to port.
At Alto, they mix Amaro Montenegro and grapefruit juice for a house cocktail ($12). A version of the Old Fashioned, served at Union Square Café (21 E. 16th St., between Fifth Avenue and Union Square West, 212-243-4020), the Danny Noonan is mixed from Blanton's Bourbon, Averna Amaro, and Cointreau, with an orange twist ($12). (The name is an homage to a character from the film "Caddyshack," who drinks Old Fashioneds.)
Light, bubbly prosecco, Italy's answer to Champagne, is a frequent feature of aperitivi. Before Lunetta (920 Broadway at 21st Street, 212-533-3663) obtained a liquor license, its cocktail list was heavy on prosecco concoctions ($12). While the Lunetta — made with Fee's wood-aged whiskey bitters and a sugar cube — stands firm on the list, other cocktails can be requested off menu, including the bright and lightly sweet Clementini, clementine juice and clementine reduction, and the Basilico, mixed with dry oloroso sherry, basil, fresh lemon juice, and a cherry.
Limoncello is another popular homemade spirit made by infusing grain alcohol or high-proof vodka with lemon peels. Alto, Union Square Café, and Landmarc (10 Columbus Circle at 60th Street, 212-823-6123 and 179 W. Broadway, between Leonard and Worth streets, 212-343-3883) all make their own varieties, which can be served chilled and straight up or mixed into cocktails.
