Let’s reach back a bit in the story though as to why this particular cocktail caught my eye that day instead of my normal order of an old fashioned, shall we? With only three ingredients any well stocked home bar should have what is necessary to mix this up, Campari, sweet vermouth and club soda. It’s also the perfect beverage to introduce you to Campari, which can be quite bitter but has the healing power of settling an upset tummy. Without the gin, it’s a simple aperitif to sip on before a meal with a low alcohol content – so it’s excellent on hot days to refresh you when you want an adult beverage. If you weren’t familiar with it before think of it as a gentler version of the Negroni. Who knows really but what I do know is this drink is light, refreshing and delicious on a hot day. The Italians clearly like to confuse us or perhaps just name any watered down drink after Americans. Yes, yes it is but it’s also a classic Italian cocktail of Campari, sweet vermouth and club soda. “An Americano? Isn’t that coffee? Braden said sitting next to me with a beer in hand. “I’ll have an Americano please.” I said to bartender. īut it’s Natasha David’s Appellation Cooler, a white wine spritz with an ounce of Cocchi Americano, that most closely recalls how the drink is still enjoyed in Italy: cut with seltzer and garnished with a slice of citrus.Bitter and refreshing The Americano Cocktail is the perfect pre-dinner apertif to enjoy before sitting down to dinner at home or with friends. It even complements tiki flavors in the spicy, citrusy Shore Leave Spritz. Harrison Ginsberg, the Overstory bartender who crafted the winning spec, said he turned to Cocchi because it “has a more pronounced citrus, specifically orange, note,” which has the ability to bring out the botanical flavors of gin and “emulate the citrus notes found in a classic Negroni.”īeyond the classics, Cocchi Americano showcases its versatility in the range of spirits it can pair with, from mezcal in the Eight States (a stirred cocktail made with blanc vermouth and aloe liqueur) to gin in the Embassie (a Chartreuse-tinged Gin Sour). In a recent sampling of recipes from top bartenders, few included the drink’s prescribed Lillet. The aperitif also often stands in for Lillet in contemporary White Negroni renditions.
His reasoning? That swapping Cocchi in for Lillet Blanc in the Corpse Reviver No.2 -which had originally called for Kina-would make for a more historically accurate cocktail. In fact, it was bartender Johnny Raglan, formerly of Absinthe in San Francisco, who first requested that Seed import the Italian aperitif. Today, it’s that very bitterness-not to mention its similarity to the original Kina Lillet-that has made Cocchi so appealing to bartenders. “It never dialed back its bitter backbone,” says Seed. “Take away the bitter, and you’ll sell more.”Ĭocchi, on the other hand, never altered its formula it still relies on the original 1891 recipe. “ sort of went the direction we saw from Tab to Diet Coke,” explains Seed. Most notable was Lillet in 1986, the company, which had been producing bitter Kina Lillet (a key ingredient in James Bond’s original Vesper ) since the late 19th century, sweetened their recipe and removed “Kina” from the name altogether. As a result, in the 20th century, many producers reformulated their recipes. When it was no longer necessary for aperitifs to offer curative benefits, “the desire for bitter …wasn’t as strong as the desire for sweet,” explains Haus Alpenz founder Eric Seed. As a part of the Americano family of aromatized aperitif wines-distinguished primarily by the inclusion of gentian root-Cocchi Americano has enjoyed an almost cultish level of popularity among bartenders since it was first imported by Haus Alpenz in 2010.Ĭreated in Piedmont, Italy, by Giulio Cocchi in 1891, the aperitif is made from Moscato d’Asti wine that is steeped with bitter orange, gentian, wormwood and cinchona-the latter being the source of quinine, the well-known anti-malarial to which so many bitter liqueurs owe their medicinal reputation.