The word aperitif comes from a Latin root,

meaning “to open,” which is exactly the

purpose of the drink, to prepare the stomach
for the meal and to open up the palate for
tastes to be enjoyed during dinner.
 They are dry. In liquors, dryness is the
measure of the amount of perceived sugar in
it.
 They have low alcohol content, usually lower
than 25% ABV. Alcohol tends to affect the
appetite so the more alcohol content in the
liquor, the more you lose your appetite.
Aperol is a good aperitif with 11% ABV and
can be drunk alone. The other aperitifs with
higher ABV like the Campari (28%) and gin
(45%) are meant to be mixed in cocktails to
lower the ABV.
 Since they’re meant to open up the palate
rather than overwhelm it, aperitifs are light and
crisp, and typically are around 15 to 25% alcohol.
 Most of the aperitif are made of vermouth, gin,
or dry styles of wine. Additionally, there are
some distilled spirits like Aperol and Campari
that are used as aperitifs on their own.
 Contrary to popular belief, though, cocktails are
really not a good way to serve an aperitif
because they are really best served on its own.
The bitterness of the herbs in the aperitif signals
the stomach to release digestive juices for the
food that is about to be eaten.
Aperitifs are best served with crackers or
olives. They should be served in small
portions, usually as a shot and should be
served chilled or with ice.
 Negroni
 Martini
 Aperol Spritz
 Fino
 Fabiola
 Campari cocktail
Vermouth is a fortified and aromatized wine.
Basically, wine spiked with brandy, infused
with herbs and spices, and sweetened. There
are two main varieties: red (sweet)
vermouth, which originally hails from Italy,
and white (dry) vermouth, which first
appeared in France. Wormwood, of absinthe
fame, is dry vermouth’s hallmark ingredient.
Vermouth, like amaro, was originally
marketed for medicinal purposes. It then
went on to became a celebrated aperitif,
served on its own or with a twist of citrus.
 Maceration
 Infusion
The process of maceration is similar to making
a cup of loose leaf tea. The botanicals steep
in the fortified wine and the alcohol
extracts the flavors. Afterward, the bits of
botanicals get filtered out. The exact time
the botanicals spend in the wine is a matter
of producer preference but can be as long as
45 days.
The second method is infusion and this takes
place during the distillation of the
fortification spirit. The spirit is distilled
through a basket of botanicals suspended
inside a still, above the liquid. It is heated
and as the vapor passes through the
botanicals the flavors are extracted. The
spirit then gets blended into the wine.
Finally, the base wine is fortified with the
spirit. Fortification increases the wines ABV
to between 18% and 22% and sugar
or mistelle is added to get the desired
sweetness.
The flavor profiles of vermouth are complex
and you may never be able to identify the
notes in each bottle. The best vermouth
brands are very protective of their recipes.
However, there are some common
ingredients used in its production in addition
to the required extracts from the Artemisia
genus of plants. Some of these more
commonly used ingredients include herbs
such as lavender, rose, marjoram, and
ginger; spices such as cinnamon, cardamom,
and vanilla; citrus peels and roots such as
licorice, angelica, and orris.
The colors are not indicative of different flavors
exactly, but instead are an indication of the base
wine and usually the sweetness level as well.
Vermouth Rosso has a red wine base, is Italian in style
and is sweet. It is also often referred to as sweet red
vermouth. The Spanish also make an increasingly
popular sweet red vermouth that tend to be a bit
lighter and less bitter than their Italian counterpart.
Blanco, or White Vermouth, has a white wine base, is
typically French in style, and is also sweet. Dry is also
French in style with a white wine base, Dry vermouth
is picked for all of those dry vermouth cocktails out
there like a Martini, El Presidente or Bensonhurst.
Whereas the sweet red vermouth and sweet white
vermouth are great for other vermouth drinks like
Manhattans, Negronis or Americanos More recently
gold and rosé have been added to the mix. Rosé
vermouth uses a rosé base wine and gold vermouth
has a white wine base and gets its golden hue from its
fortification spirit such as an aged brandy. Both are
classified as ‘new-age’ vermouth.
Because vermouth is a wine and not a spirit, it
oxidizes over time just like wine does.
Oxidization is not good. Experts recommend
that you store it in the fridge and consume
your open bottle within about 3 months.
Since vermouth is often used in small
quantities when making vermouth drinks
keep that in mind when deciding what size
bottle to buy. Bigger is not always better.
Country of Origin: Italy
Distillery: Fratelli Branca
Distillerie
Region: Milan, Lombardy
Age: N/A
Casking: N/A
ABV: 16.5%
Country of Origin: France
Distillery: Dolin Distillery
Region: Chambéry, Savoie
Age: N/A
Casking: N/A
ABV: 16%
Country of Origin: Italy
Distillery: Martini & Rossi
Region: Chieri-Pessione,
Turin
Age: N/A
Casking: Tino Oak Barrels
ABV: 15%
Country of Origin: Italy
Distillery: Giulio Cocchi
Spumanti
Region: Cocconato, Asti
Age: N/A
Casking: N/A
ABV: 16%
Country of Origin: Italy
Distillery: Martini & Rossi
Region: Chieri-Pessione, Turin
Age: N/A
Casking: N/A
ABV: 15%
Country of Origin: USA
Distillery: Ransom Spirits
Region: McMinnville, Oregon
Age: N/A
Casking: N/A
ABV: 18.4%
 Negroni
 Manhattan
 Martini
 Vodka Martini
A digestif is an alcoholic drink served after a
meal. There are many styles of digestifs,
from amaros and fortified wines to brandies
and herbal liqueurs. Some cocktails can also
be digestifs.
A bitter is traditionally an alcoholic preparation
flavored with botanical matter such that the end
result is characterized by a bitter or
bittersweet flavor.
 Numerous longstanding brands of bitters were
originally developed as patent medicines, but are
now sold as digestif and cocktails as flavouring
agents.
 Generally bitters have high alcohol content and should
never be used in Non – Alcoholic drinks.

 Bitters also known as Elixirs as they are supposed to have

medicinal qualities.
 Bitters are invented in 19th Century by British. The first bitter
was introduced in 1806. Followed by Angostura in 1824.
There are three methods to produce bitters…
 Infusion

 Percolation

 Distillation
 It is also known as Steeping or Soaking or
Maceration.
 The flavouring ingredients are crushed and soaked
in the base spirit for a period of six to nine months.
 This helps in extracting the colour, flavor and Aroma
of the flavouring ingredient.
 This is followed by a further maturing in oak casks.
 This liquid is finally filtered and bottled.
 It has two levels separated by a filter, the base spirit is
put in the lower level and the flavouring ingredients are
placed in top level.

 The spirit is repeatedly pumped to the higher level, so

that it can be mixed with the flavouring ingredients.

 This process is repeated for few weeks and all the

flavour and aroma are extracted from ingredients.

 This liquid is then matured and bottled.

 In this method the flavouring agents are added to
the base spirit and then redistilled in pot still.

 The distillate which is obtained imbibes the aroma

and the flavour of the flavouring agents.
 The colour and sweetness of the spirit is adjusted
and then it is bottled.
Sl. Year of
Name of Bitters Type Country Alc. Per Invented By
No Origin

Herbs & Trinidad &

01 Angostura 44.7% Benjamin 1824
Spices Tobago

Herbs & Gaspare

02 Campari Italy 20 – 28% 1860
Spices Campari

Gaeton
03 Amer Picon Orange France 18% 1837
Picon

Herbs & Bernandino

04 Fernet Branca Italy 39% 1845
Spices Branca

05 Cynar Artichoke Italy 16.5% - -

Herbs
Hubert
06 Underberg from 43 Germany 44% 1846
Underberg
Countries
Sl. Year of
Name of Bitters Base Country Alc. Per Invented By
No Origin

07 Unicum 40 Herbs Hungary 35% Zwack 1851

Red Wine Simon

08 Byrrh France 18% 1866
Brandy Violet

09 Gammel Dansk 29 Herbs Denmark 38% JK Asmund 1964

Antoine
10 Peychaud’s Gentiana USA 35% 1830
Peychaud

11 China Martini Chinaroot Italy 31% - 1847

12 Boonekamp Spirit Dutch 40% - -

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