Discover seven Italian cocktails that will transport your taste buds to Italy.
Traveling to Italy has culinary rewards that include pizza and pasta as well as many more Italian foods and desserts. But, make no mistake – some of these edible rewards are best imbibed from a glass.
In Italy, people fill sidewalk cafes every day of the week. While munching on a range of snacks, from salumi to cheese, their hands clutch glasses of wine as well as flutes filled with sparkling prosecco and a variety of classic Italian cocktails.
Fun Fact
Italians don’t say cheers when they make toasts. They say salute or cin cin instead.
Drinking Italian Cocktails in Italy
Cocktails are nothing new in Italy.
Italians have been sipping Aperol Spritzes and Negronis for more than a century. It just took some time for Italy’s sophisticated sippers to jump the pond in a serious way.
The popularity of those two particular Italian cocktails has skyrocketed in recent years to the point that it’s practically impossible to find a bar in the United States that doesn’t serve one or both. However, while we sip the occasional Negroni and Aperol Spritz, they’re not the only Italian cocktails we craft at home.
Drinking Italian Cocktails at Home
We drink a variety of Italian drinks at home when we enjoy aperitivo sessions filled with olives, cheese and assorted cured meats. It’s a custom we learned about in Bologna and one that we’re happy to recreate when we have company as well as when we don’t.
These are our favorites Italian cocktail recipes to craft at home:
7 of the Best Italian Cocktails
Amaretto Sour
Crafting an Amaretto Sour is easy. The challenge is deciding which ingredients to add. Since we add both Disaronno Amaretto and Bourbon, our Amaretto Sour recipe is technically a Disaronno Sour recipe and it's delicious.
Americano
Crafting an Amaretto Sour is easy. The challenge is deciding which ingredients to add. Since we add both Disaronno Amaretto and Bourbon, our Amaretto Sour recipe is technically a Disaronno Sour recipe and it's delicious.
Aperol Spritz
The Garibaldi Cocktail, one of summer's hottest drinks, is a sophisticated Italian tipple. Follow our super simple recipe and craft a refreshing Garibaldi at home.
Garibaldi
Don't like Italy's Aperol Spritz? Try a Hugo Spritz instead. Who knows? The refreshing Italian spritz may become your go-to aperitivo beverage.
Hugo Spritz
Don't like Italy's Aperol Spritz? Try a Hugo Spritz instead. Who knows? The refreshing Italian spritz may become your go-to aperitivo beverage.
Negroni
Follow our classic Negroni recipe and learn how to make the sophisticated Italian sipper with just five ingredients including ice. Unique for its deep red color and acerbic flavor, a Campari Negroni packs a punch with equal parts of bitter Campari, dry gin and sweet vermouth.
Negroni Sbagliato
The Negroni Sbagliato was allegedly invented by mistake. Fast forward 50 years and this mistaken 'Negroni with Prosecco' has become a worldwide sensation. Join the hype and craft one at home.
Italian Cocktail FAQs
Italian cocktails are cocktails invented in Italy. They’re typically crafted with Italian liqueurs like Amaretto, Aperol and Campari.
The Negroni is the most popular Italian cocktail both in Italy and beyond with the Aperol Spritz a close second.
While it’s always a good time to drink Italian cocktails, the best time is during the Italian pre-dinner ritual known as aperitivo.
Italy is the best place to drink Italian cocktails but it’s also easy and fun to craft them at home.
About the Authors
Daryl & Mindi Hirsch
Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website and YouTube. The married Food and Travel content creators live in Lisbon, Portugal.
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Original Publication Date: March 25, 2023