Cocktails with Aperitivo
Aperitivo is a light, bittersweet orange-red aperitif liqueur, lower in alcohol and less bitter than red bitter liqueurs.
ABV11–18%
Taste profile
Bitter orange leads, edged with herbal and spiced aromatics and carried on a clear sweetness that softens the bitterness; medium-light in body.
How it's used
Reached for when a drink needs bittersweet aromatic colour without much alcoholic weight, it works as a low-proof modifier, stirred into short drinks or lengthened with sparkling wine and soda over ice as the flavouring base.
Substitutes for Aperitivo
Another light, bittersweet orange-red aperitif liqueur of similar low strength.
Often confused with
Red bitter liqueur
Aperitivo liqueurs in this style are lighter-bodied, distinctly less bitter and lower in alcohol; red bitter liqueurs are more intensely bitter and stronger.
Aperitif (the occasion/functional category)
This style is one specific bittersweet orange-red liqueur product, whereas 'aperitivo' more broadly names the pre-meal drinking ritual and the functional class of appetite-opening drinks, which also includes vermouth, wine and amari.
