Apéritifs and Digestifs

An apéritif is an alcoholic beverage (wine) served before a meal, traditionally believed to increase appetite. A digestif is typically the opposite of an apéritif, enjoyed after a meal. (Some digestifs can actually be drank as an apértif.) Apéritifs, such as Campari, gin, and dry vermouth, tend to be dry or bitter and designed to whet the palate and wake up the digestive system. In contrast, digestifs are less acidic, contain more sugar and alcohol, and offer a more relaxing, richer flavor profile.

Apéritifs

Apéritif wines are aromatized wines. Aromatized means that the wine has been infused with botanicals that add flavor and color. The apéritif wine category includes all vermouths, quinquinas, americanos, and a smattering of other proprietary formula wine products. Some are also fortified wines. Fortified means the alcohol percentage of the wine has been raised through the addition of spirits (a fairly neutral grape brandy is ideal in most cases). Almost all these wines have a white wine or mistelle base.

Listed below are the different categories of apéritifs.  ( * = aromatized, ** = aromatized & fortified )

Vermouths **

The word vermouth derives from “wormwood”, and is inherited from earlier Hungarian and German wormwood-infused wines of the same name. Wormwood remains vermouth’s starting point: its principal, defining botanical (like juniper is for gin). What additional botanicals are added and how, as well as the base wine, differentiates them. The cradle of vermouth is the ethnically Italian Piemonte and the ethnically French Savoy regions, which, in the 18th Century comprised the mainland territory of the Kingdom of Sardinia. (Referring to Sardinia today means just the remaining Isle of Sardinia, which as of 1948 is an official self-governing ‘regione' [region] of Italy reborne from the Sardinian Kingdom’s roots.)

Like gins, there are different styles of vermouth: Torino, Chinato, Alla Vaniglia, Chambéry, Bianco, Marseilles Dry, Western Dry (a.k.a. New Western), Modern, and Spanish. For martinis, we always use a good dry vermouth: Cinzano, Maidenii, Martini & Rossi, Noilly Prat, Dolin, or Perucchi. And refrigerate after opening, to make them last much longer! The quickest way to identify dry vs. sweet vermouth is visually, by their color:

For simply way too much additional detail on vermouth, check out https://vermouth101.com/ .

Quinquina **

These wines include Peruvian chinchona bark (“quina” in the native Quechua tongue) amongst their botanicals. Chinchona bark is the primary source of quinine, the pharmaceutical — and the taste component of tonic water for GTs. Quinine became the wonder drug of the 18th Century when colonizing Europeans realized that it was beneficial in warding off malaria. A major market for quinquina was France’s protracted military campaign in Algeria, which held large numbers of French troops and administrators in tropical peril. Some quinquina was specifically produced with the French foreign legion in mind.

The Queen Mother’s favorite quinquina was Dubonnet, first sold in France in 1846 and currently produced by Pernod Ricard.

Americano **

Americano refers to the word amer (bitter). Where quinquina’s defining flavor is quinine, Americano’s is both gentian root and wormwood. Gentian root has floral, earthy, and radish notes. Wormwood, on the other hand, has a weedy, herbaceous, and eucalyptus character.

In keeping with the tangled history of vermouth between the French and Italians in the Savoy region, Americano could be considered the Italian response to French quinquina.

Barolo Chinato *

Even the fanciest vermouths are usually made with a basic, cheap white wine — often a Moscato that's usually fairly neutral in taste. Barolo Chinato doesn't screw around: Its base is certified DOCG Barolo wine—that is, 100% Nebbiolo from the Barolo region in Piedmont. Moscato is a beautiful grape and makes sense for vermouth, but the use of barrel-aged, high-quality red wine in Barolo Chinato makes it strikingly more complex and rich.

To make chinato, producers macerate a blend of herbs, spices, and bittering agents in grain alcohol or grappa; this infusion, which sometimes includes juniper, coriander, citrus rind, clove, ginger, vanilla, bay leaf, cardamom, cinchona, wormwood, gentian root, and sugar is added to the wine until the mixture reaches about 16 to 18% ABV.

various vino amaros *

These are made by infusing alcohol with an often complex variety of herbs and spices, and sometimes other flavorings like dried orange peel. This is achieved through maceration in some cases, in others through distillation, or a combination of the two. Sometimes this infusion is mixed with sugar syrup to balance out the bitterness. The amaro is then often aged in wood casks. Because of their wine base, these products have vinous texture and a depth of flavor that add a welcome breadth when used in mixed drinks. Examples of amaros/amari include Averna, Montenegro, Unicum, Underberg and Jaegermeister.

Digestif Cocktails

A classic cocktail like the Old Fashioned makes a great nightcap… but there’s a thousand more digestif cocktails to choose from.

various vino amaros *

These are apertifs that can be drank as either an apertif or as a digestif. See the “digestifs” section for more details on various vino amaros.

Good Rules of Thumb for Apértifs:

DO…

  • drink aperitifs neat, chilled, and in mixed drinks.

  • store opened bottles in the refrigerator.

  • keep wines away from heat and light.

  • buy small bottles and use them quickly.

DON’T…

  • serve old, stale aperitif wines.

  • leave speed-pourers in vermouth & quinquina bottles when not in use.

Digestifs

A digestif is both what you drink and when you drink it. The word digestif (plural, digestifs) is French for "digestive" and derived from the Latin digestivus. In Italian, it is digestivo (masculine) and digestiva (feminine). Traditionally, a digestif is considered any alcoholic beverage that you would enjoy after a large dinner, and a variety of beverages fall into this category. They are often characterized by a high alcohol content with a deep, sometimes rich, flavor profile. For liqueurs, digestifs often encompass stomach-settling herbs and spices and have a bitter-sweet taste.

Digestifs are not necessarily dessert drinks. You can enjoy them during, after, or instead of dessert, but a digestif tends to be far less sweet and higher in alcohol than the typical dessert cocktail.

Fortified Wines

No goddammit, not those fortified wines!!!! Ports, sherries, and sweet vermouths. As opposed to dry vermouths, sweet vermouths are higher in sugar content (“sweeter”) and darker in color.

Herbal Liqueurs

Many of those medicinal elixirs of old are today's herbal liqueurs, and they're superb digestifs. These include aquavit, Becherovka, Bénédictine, Chartreuse, Cynar, Fernet-Branca, Galliano, Strega, and Zwack.

Sweet Liqueurs

Some after dinner digestivi are intensely sweet. These liqueurs are generally made by infusing alcohol with some flavoring ingredient like lemon zest or anise, then mixing the alcohol with simple sugar syrup. While amari are best consumed in the colder months, this class of digestivo is equally at home year round.

The types of sweet liqueurs are: herbal/spice, fruit, nut/coffee/chocolate, spirit/whisky, and cream/milk/egg. Favorites include sambuca, amaretto, irish cream, grand marnier, drambuie, and limoncello.

Aqua Vitae

If you want a really stiff after dinner drink, this category is for you. It includes grappa, aquavit, pisco, calvados, l’eau de vie / slivovitz (brandy) and cognac, chartreuse, genever, tequila, and single-malt scotch. What a broad category!!