THE CLASSIC ITALIAN APERITIVO TO DRINK THIS SUMMER
In recent years the UK has experienced a huge surge in the popularity of Italian ingredients and their iconic drinking culture. It is very much a golden age for classic cocktails and each summer it is getting increasingly hard to miss the glow of ice filled, amber hued Spritzes being chinked al fresco all around the country.
Cocchi Americano and Rosa are some of the finest aperitivo wines produced in Italy. Using wines native to Piedmont in North West Italy, the wines are then “aromatised” by adding a secret blend of herbs and spices to create a unique and refreshing drink that’s delicious served over ice or with a dash of soda or Prosecco for an elegant, natural rendition of a summer Spritz.
Championed by the likes of The Savoy, Balthazar, the Ace Hotel and Oskar’s bar at Dabbous (Oskar Kinsberg calls it his ketchup as it improves almost every drink he serves!) Cocchi is fast becoming the bartender’s favourite authentic Italian aperitivo.
The town Asti in Piedmont has been the home of the Cocchi winery since 1891. Founded by Giulio Cocchi, he began producing aromatized wines that soon began to rise in popularity and now find themselves in a host of the world’s best cocktail bars.
Since the 1990’s Cocchi has been run by the Bava family, fourth generation Barolo wine growers and headed up by their CEO, Roberto Bava. A visionary, Roberto champions Italian drinking culture.
He maintains its artisan character by using only traditional techniques and natural ingredients that make Cocchi’s name synonymous with authenticity and quality.
Cocchi’s Americano is much more than a simple wine made with the infusion of herbs and spices. An aperitif par excellence, it is a taste of Asti’s gastronomic history. The secret blend of herbs and spices, that include cichona bark, are used to aromatise the Muscato which is then fortified before being laid down for up to a year before bottling.
Cocchi Americano conjures notes of orange zest, orange flower and elderflower leading on to aromas of baked apple and pear drops. Bitter notes mingle with sweet honey and citrus flavours before wine-like characteristics become prominent as the flavours develop, with a bittersweet freshness lingering until the end.
Cocchi Rosa is the newest addition to the Cocchi family and leading the way in the new style of aperitivo drinking. Cocchi Rosa is blended using Brachetto grapes with its own unique set of botanicals that include rose petals and ginger, think bitter, sweet, spicy with a touch of red fruit.
Both make an exceptionally refreshing drink for a summer’s day either over ice with a slice of orange or made into a sophisticated Spritz when mixed with Prosecco or soda, finished with a slice of orange or lemon making a Spritz like no other.
