From time to time, we invite colleagues of ours from the media, trade and those from as far away as Italy to share their reflections on the Italian food and wine industry in America. Today, we’re pleased to invite Alessandra Rotondi, sommelier and wine and spirits consultant, who shares a bit of lesser-known history on the Italian roots of popular cocktails in America.

Renaissance of Cocktail Culture in the United States: How and why Italian spirits are increasingly more appealing to US bar chefs and consumers

By Alessandra Rotondi

A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink with two or more ingredients, one of which must be a spirit. The origins of the word cocktail are unclear. A popular story is that an apothecary from New Orleans occasionally served his guests a mix of brandy, sugar, water and bitters in an egg-cup called cocquetier in French, later shortened to cocktail. A different theory refers to the French word coquetel as the name of a mixed drink from Bordeaux served to French officers during the American Revolution. Finally, the colors of the mixed ingredients may resemble those of the rooster’s (cock’s) tail. No matter what the origins are, many agree that cocktail “cocks your tail.”

 

Cocktails’ popularity started in the 19th century when early refrigeration emerged and bartenders began serving cold drinks thanks to the availability of ice. In 1767, the achievement of artificial carbonation started the art of mixology, which by then consisted of just adding fizzy water into whiskey. During Prohibition (1920–1933), cocktails were consumed illegally in establishments known as speakeasies. The quality of available liquor was low. Gin became very popular then, since it did not require any aging and was easier to produce illicitly than whiskey.

 

A new popularity came during the 1980s, with the success of vodka often substituted for gin in drinks such as the Martini, the undisputed king of cocktails! It made its first appearance in 1862 at the Occidental Hotel of San Francisco, named after the near town of Martinez. The Martini’s popularity is often attributed – at least in the beginning – to the fictional spy James Bond who always asked for his Martini to be “shaken, not stirred.”

 

Cocktails had a comeback in the 2000s, with a simultaneous brand new interest by trade, media and diners toward good food, fresh ingredients, nutritional aspects, artisan products such as bread, cheese, olive oil and even water. The immediate consequence was a higher attention toward what was put into drinks, the beginning of a cocktail renaissance. Bartenders used fresh ingredients, flavorful liquors, experimenting with new recipes, different from what could be considered the “old fashioned” style. Furthermore, the internet allowed them to share information throughout the world, making contests and competitions more accessible. The bartender turned into a modern alchemist and kind of mayor, being the one who could track and influence new trends, habits and tastes of a city, through customers approaching his bar. Plus, the high level of cuisine achieved by a significant number of restaurants, especially in metropolitan areas, drove restaurateurs to provide clients a wider dining experience to make every part of their meal more appealing.

 

Cocktails accomplished the mission of often gaining important reviews in newspapers and magazines as “the allure that makes a restaurant so special.” Any crafted cocktail, anything called “Martini” – or anything else similar as long as it ended with “-tini” and was served in a glass – generated considerable profits.

 

The original Martini consisted of 1 ounce sweet gin; 2 dashes maraschino; 1 dash angostura bitter and 2 ounces of Italian sweet Vermouth. According to many, the Vermouth used was produced by the Italian firm Martini & Rossi. Nowadays, the International Bartenders Association (IBA) refers to Martini just as a cocktail made with 5.5 cl gin and 1.5 cl dry vermouth. Therefore, Martini’s birth and current success is due to a major Italian touch, since vermouth is an Italian fortified wine, flavored with aromatic herbs and spices, whose formula was invented in 1786 by Antonio Benedetto Carpano from Turin, Piedmont, the same area where the two leading companies in spirits and vermouth come from: Martini & Rossi –founded in the 19th century, now owned by Bacardi, and Cinzano – founded in the 18th century, owned by Gruppo Campari which owns also Campari and Aperol (more below).

 

According to the Italian Wine and Food Institute based in New York, during January-September 2010, the US imported 39.980 hectoliters of Italian vermouth, at a value of $15.2 million resulting in an increase of 3.4% in quantity and 11.2% in value as compared to the same period of 2009. Vermouth is a main ingredient also used in the Manhattan, as well as in the Italian Americano and Negroni. The first one was invented in the 1930s when the fascist regime dictated using national products, such as Campari or Vermouth. It is believed the drink was named to commemorate the victory of Primo Carnera who became the world heavyweight boxing champion in Madison Square Garden in 1933. Ordered by James Bond in the movies Casino Royale and A View to a Kill, the Negroni was most likely invented in Florence in 1919, at Caffè Casoni when Count Camillo Negroni asked the bartender to strengthen his favorite cocktail, the Americano, by adding gin rather than the normal soda water. The bartender also added an orange garnish rather than the typical lemon garnish of the Americano to signify that it was a different drink.

 

Actually, from the 1950s through today, the Italian style has dictated many of the daily trends. Those who could not afford an Italian designed car or outfit, could have a bite of the easygoing Italian lifestyle – la dolce vita – through Italian food, or a sip of it, through Italian cocktails. Moreover, the Americano and Negroni have an additional Italian ingredient: Campari, a bitter characterized by its dark red color, obtained from the infusion of herbs, in alcohol, water and chinotto, a non-alcoholic drink, dark in color whose appearance is similar to coke with a bittersweet taste. Campari was created in 1860 by Gaspare Campari in Novara, Piedmont. The original recipe still in use today is kept confidential and according to Gruppo Campari, only one person in the world knows the entire formula! Campari is also the main ingredient for the Italian old Bicicletta, apparently named after elderly men who would swerve all over the road on their way home after a few drinks at the bar.

 

Owned by the same Gruppo Campari, Aperol is bright orange with a bittersweet taste deriving from a secret recipe, unchanged since its creation, infusion of precious primary herbs and roots -rhubarb, gentian and chinchona. Aperol originated in 1919 in Padova, Veneto. In 2007, Wine Enthusiast rated it 90-95 point in its category and at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, received a double-gold medal, the highest available award. The target consumer in the U.S. is mostly female, 21 to 30 years old, college educated and professional. Aperol is the main ingredient of the famous AppleTini. But the major popularity of Aperol is because of the Spritz, a cocktail made also with Prosecco wine and soda, with only 7-8% alcohol by volume. Spritz has been imported to US by the Italian Venetian community who wanted to maintain the habit of this aperitif: an astounding 250,000 per day –more than 1,000 spritz per minute during the aperitivo time is the daily consumption in Veneto region. Google lists over 1,800,000 links connected to Spritz.

 

On October 1st, 2010 the Campari Group finalized the buying of other brands strengthening even more its leading position in United States and registering in the first trimester of 2010 an increase of 66.5% on sales in the American area which covers 30.9% of the whole market. Relevant for this survey is the acquisition of Frangelico, liquor from Piedmont too; its origins date back more than 300 years to the presence of early Christian monks living in the hills of that area. Their skills in fine food and drink included the art of distilling, especially the use of the wild local hazelnuts, called Tonda Gentile delle Langhe. Its name is also part of the same local legend: an abbreviation of Fra’ Angelico, a hermit monk inhabiting there during the 17th century, whose tunic is reproduced in the bottle. Staying on the sweet notes, another Italian champion in US sales is Amaretto di Saronno, a flavored liquor with a bittersweet almond taste (although it contains no almonds or nuts). Di Saronno claims its originale Amaretto’s secret formula is unchanged from 1525: “An infusion of apricot kernel oil with alcohol, burnt sugar, and the pure essence of 17 selected herbs and fruits.” Godfather, Godmother and Godchild cocktails are made with this popular liquor.

 

Amaretto should not be confused with Amaro, meaning ‘bitter,’ which is an Italian herbal liquor commonly drunk as an after-dinner digestif, used also as main ingredient for many drinks. This survey cannot be concluded without mentioning something just happened in March 2011 that will confirm the Italian success in the cocktail renaissance: the launch in the US of I Spirit Vodka, the first Italian Vodka made with Italian wine! By the partnership of 4 Italian entrepreneurs – Arrigo Cipriani, of the namesake Venetian family leader in the restaurant business; Marco Fantinel, wine producer; Lapo Elkann, businessman and fashion designer; Francesco Cosulich, wine producer – I Spirit Vodka is obtained by distilling high quality cereals and selecting high quality white wines from Friuli and Veneto regions, which are famous for the art of distillation “since 1511, when a group of monks from Veneto crossed Europe on foot, sustained only by a strong alcoholic home-distilled grappa, perfectly suited to regenerate the spirit. When these young monks arrived at the monastery of Fryazino (province of Moscow), they offered the distilled drink to all those present, who hailed it as a magical elixir with healing powers. And so the good monks taught the monastery’s inhabitants how to distill alcohol. That same method is passed down from generation to generation, in order to produce Vodka.” (Source: I Spirit Vodka). It should be true since at the Museum of Vodka in Saint Petersburg visitors read: “For the first time spirit was extracted by Italian alchemists who, in the 11-12th centuries were looking for the elixir-stone and distilled wine’s essence, what they thought to be its soul, or spirit.” To better understand the inner meaning of this quote, it is a useful remind that the word spirit comes from spiritus which in Latin also means soul.

 

It is quite mandatory now to refer to a real must in any bar: the Bellini. Invented by Giuseppe Cipriani Sr. in 1948 at the Harry’s Bar in Venice, it is made with Prosecco wine and juice of white peaches. Because of its pink color, which reminded Cipriani the color of a painting by 15th century Venetian artist called Giovanni Bellini, he gave the drink that name which is now synonymous worldwide of Italian cocktail.

 

Finally, Italy celebrates this 2011 its 150th anniversary of foundation as a unified nation. Red, white and green are the Italian Flag’s colors. They would look so nice in a glass! American Bartenders… Got the message?