The Italian Pantry: Bitters
Drinking at home, evening edition.
Bitters by Jordan Mackay
Italians are not typically bitter people, but, oh, do they love a bitter flavor, which they have made a key component of their diet, as evidenced by the gusto with which they consume vegetables like radicchio, arugula, artichoke, and escarole. Yet nowhere is the Italian penchant for bitterness more pronounced than in the national love of bitter alcohols: vermouth, the pre-prandial spirit known as an aperitivo, and the post-prandial digestive drink known as amaro (plural amari).
A love of bitterness is not a palpable human trait. Bitter taste receptors are one of the few hard-wired sensors on our tongue (along with salt, sour, sweet, and umami receptors). In nature, the taste of bitterness primarily signals toxins. Our bitter taste receptors are gatekeepers, providing instant and explicit warnings not to eat whatever plant (usually) provides that flavor. But humans are risk takers and have, over millennia, discovered that we can override that warning and ingest bitter foods for the betterment of both our health and gastronomical pleasure. Many bitter compounds contain phytonutrients that in small amounts offer antioxidant, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, thanks to receptors in our gastrointestinal tract, bitter compounds can be sensed (not "tasted") post-ingestion and have been found to support the gut microbiome, aid in appetite regulation, and boost digestion. It’s these latter functions that make the Italian practice of drinking amari so sensible and compelling.
VERMOUTH
France and (especially) Spain boast strong vermouth cultures, but vermouth's modern origin is Turin, Italy, in 1786, where Antonio Benedetto Carpano created the first commercial brand of herbal, fortified wine. Vermouth gets its name from “wermut,” the German word for wormwood, the active ingredient in absinthe and an extremely bitter plant. For medicinal reasons and palatability, other herbs and spices are infused. A sweetening agent makes it more palatable, and a fortifying spirit preserves the mixture to create a liquid of 15-18% alcohol (not much more than a glass of wine).
In general, Italian vermouth—often based on red wine—is classically associated with a sweeter, richer, and spicier base than its counterparts in France and Spain. Classic Italian brands are Cocchi, Martini & Rossi, and Carpano, but other brands abound. While it’s become best known in the U.S. as a cocktail ingredient, vermouth is commonly drunk in Europe as an aperitivo.
The pre-dinner, slightly bitter, low-alcohol drink, aka the “aperitivo,” is a staple of Italian dining culture and lifestyle. The period of the aperitivo begins in the early evening and often involves a diverse variety of little snacky foods like bruschetta, olives, nuts, and salumi. These accompany the star of the show, the aperitivo cocktail - a cold, refreshing spritz of some kind or a simple mixed drink made with vermouth or a bitter spirit. The most famous examples of aperitivi spirits are Campari and Aperol, but many other brands exist on the market. The famous Campari is extremely bitter and stronger in alcohol than its orange-hued, sweeter, and mildly bitter counterpart Aperol. While Campari and red vermouth team with gin to make a Negroni, the strength of that drink makes it more cocktail than aperitivo. In Italy, a more common aperitivo is the basic Campari and Soda, served over ice. Aperol’s primary deployment is the ubiquitous Aperol Spritz, in which it's mixed with prosecco and soda water and garnished with an orange slice. Both drinks are low enough in alcohol that you don’t stumble to the dinner table but have ingested enough bitterness to curb your appetite and prepare you for digestion. Both spirits deserve a place on your bar (or your pantry).
AMARO
The final category of bitter spirits, the amaro, is the most intense, both in bitterness and alcoholic strength. While amaro often finds its way into cocktails (and can even be spritzed for a strong aperitivo), its primary role is as a digestive - served straight up after a meal or sometimes on ice. If downing a high-alcohol, sweet, room-temperature, and extremely bitter shot after a large meal sounds anything but digestive, the science of bitterness and over 150 years of European tradition suggest otherwise.
Common amaro categories include alpine amari like Braulio, which are based on bitter botanicals found at altitude in the mountains; rabarbaro, which are made from rhubarb; carciofi amari, such as Cynar, are bittered with artichoke leaves; and Fernets, which are bitter, strong and medicinal (the name invokes iron). Amari range from the massive national brands - the moderately bitter and molasses-sweet Averna and the mouth-puckeringly medicinal Fernet. Other common brands include Montenegro, Cardamaro, Meletti, Nonino, Lucano, and Ramazzotti. Ultimately, there are probably as many versions of amaro as there are villages in Italy. Any two or three should be sufficient for your bar pantry. Serve them straight as an ounce or two or on the rocks after a big Mediterranean meal for good digestion and a woozy sleep: a gulp of bitterness will ultimately leave you unembittered.