What I learned this week

I learned that Campari and Aperol are not really amaros, though they, like amaros, are Italian bitter liqueurs. (I wish I had learned this before I sent out a pitch confusing them, but oh well!) Amaros are in the category of digestifs: after-dinner drinks. Aperol and Campari are aperitifs: appetite-inducing before-dinner drinks. Digestifs are usually heavier, darker, and more alcoholic than aperitifs (and this is certainly the case with Aperol versus Fernet), though there is certainly crossover. For example, sherry is consumed as both. In any case, all Italian liqueurs are gunning for summer cocktail popularity, no matter what category they're in.

Bitter and Loving It

Last week I attended an event for Averna; yesterday it was a poolside Aperol party. Campari is already an essential ingredient in the Negroni though I'm seeing more people enjoy it with soda lately, and San Francisco sells a ton of Fernet-Branca. These brands are all examples of Italian bitter liqueurs, also known as amaros. I have a lot to learn about amaros and the difference between them and other herb-heavy spirits like pastis, pernod, and herbsaint. But I can tell you the marketing push is on for this summer's hot new drink category to be light aperitif cocktails invoking thoughts of holidays on the shores of the Mediterranean. I don't mind that one bit. The thing I do mind is that San Francisco weather doesn't remind one of summer at all.

Lillet by the Bay

On Friday I went to a Lillet event that was the end cap of a week of big drinking events. (I'm kind of glad it's over because I didn't get much paid work done in between.) Lillet is a fortified wine that comes in a white (Lillet Blanc, though I sometimes see it written as Lillet Blonde) and red (Lillet Rouge) version. According to the brand owner, they produce several kinds of orange liqueurs from different oranges, then blend these together with the wine and barrel age it for a year to produce the final product. The white version seems to be more popular and indeed was the focus on the tasting, as Jeff Hollinger from Absinthe shook up an array of cocktails using the product. I had first discovered Lillet when at Range they added a splash of it to a gin and tonic. The product is often consumed shaken cold or served on ice with an orange slice as an aperitif, and I think I like it best that way. Much like other fortified wines (vermouth in particular), the aperitif becomes just another ingredient in a mixed drink, whereas it can stand out as a sweet, light refreshing wine on its own. They're promoting it as an ingredient in summer cocktails and the favorite cocktail passed around was a rosemary ice cooler made with it. Like its addition to a gin and tonic, Lillet can add a touch of non-citrus sweetness to drinks to put an interesting spin on a cooler cocktail. In experimenting with recipes, that's how I'll start thinking of it.