Six Classic Italian Cocktails Everyone Should Know

Italy gave the world the idea of aperitivo — the pre-dinner drink that is really a social institution — and the drinks to go with it. Master these six and you can walk into any bar in Milan or Toronto's Little Italy and order like you live there.

1. Negroni

Equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, built over ice in a rocks glass and stirred. Born in Florence in 1919 when Count Camillo Negroni asked for gin in his Americano. The bar snack it comes with — olives, chips — is not optional; the salt is the point.

Ingredients

• 30 ml gin
• 30 ml Campari
• 30 ml sweet vermouth
• 1 orange peel, expressed over the top

2. Aperol Spritz

Three parts Prosecco, two parts Aperol, one splash of soda, built in a big wine glass over ice with an orange slice. Veneto's afternoon engine. Proportions matter: 3-2-1 is the difference between a Spritz and a sad Campari soda.

Ingredients

• 90 ml Prosecco
• 60 ml Aperol
• 30 ml soda water
• 1 orange slice

3. Garibaldi

Campari and orange juice — but the Italian way: flash-blend the juice so it froths, pour Campari over ice, float the foam on top. Named for the hero who united Italy; two ingredients, one red flag of a drink.

Ingredients

• 60 ml Campari
• 120 ml fresh orange juice, flash-blended until it foams

4. Americano

The Negroni's grandfather: Campari, sweet vermouth, soda. Lower proof, longer afternoon. This is the drink the name of the brand's founder allegedly borrowed for the cocktail, not the other way around.

Ingredients

• 30 ml Campari
• 30 ml sweet vermouth
• 90 ml soda water, to top
• 1 orange slice

5. Sgroppino

Venetian digestivo: lemon sorbet, Prosecco and a splash of vodka whisked to a soft foam. Dessert and digestivo in one glass.

Ingredients

• 1 scoop lemon sorbet (about 60 ml), softened
• 60 ml Prosecco
• 30 ml vodka
• 15 ml fresh lemon juice

6. Hugo

Elderflower syrup, Prosecco, soda and mint. The youngest cocktail here (invented in South Tyrol in 2005) and the gentlest — the gateway aperitivo.

Ingredients

• 30 ml elderflower syrup
• 90 ml Prosecco
• 30 ml soda water
• 6 mint leaves
• 1 lime slice

The rule that runs through all of them: bitter drinks are served with food, before dinner, never after. After dinner in Italy belongs to amaro, espresso or grappa.