I think most of us would agree that in lifestyle terms, our cousins over on the Mediterranean have nailed it. Blessed with great weather, even better food and fantastic wine, in most respects they have won the location lottery. A case in point is the aperitif. Mildly alcoholic by design, what started out as a medicinal remedy has over time evolved to become one of the most recognisable features of European drinking culture. And one of the most attractive.

Popping into the bar on the way home to catch up with friends whilst sipping on a Campari Soda and eating olives is built into the fabric of Mediterranean culture a bit like tea and cake is to Brits. But how did this tradition become such a fundamental part of culture in Mediterranean Europe, and why haven’t all nations taken it to their heart?

“I think one of the reasons we’ve not really adopted aperitif culture in the USA or UK is down to a very different culinary culture to what we’re accustomed to,” says Seattle-based drinks journalist Paul Clarke. “From the viewpoint of your average American palate, these things taste unusual. We are not accustomed to bitter flavours: in general we are not a culinary culture that embraces bitterness, which to a certain degree is a signature of aperitifs,” Clarke explains.

It’s hardly surprising that generally, bitterness is something we’re wary of, as Professor Rachel E.Black of Boston University’s Gastronomy Program explains: “There’s this deeper biological awareness that bitterness is associated with something that could either harm us or is used for a medicinal purpose, which doesn’t tend to have positive connotations. Innately, sweet is good and bitter is something to be wary of, or watch out for,” says Black.

“Bitterness tells us one of two things. Either it could potentially be poison or this can be fun,” says Clarke. “It’s one of the last flavours we develop as humans, and it does certain things to your mouth. It stimulates secretions and it stimulates the production of gastric juices, and so it really primes your body to take in food, and that is the whole idea of the aperitif.”

Although most of the classic aperitifs are bitter, they don’t all have this pronounced flavour. But they shouldn’t be overly sweet, as this will do the opposite to preparing the palate for a meal. “If you take something like a Lillet or a Fino sherry, neither of those drinks has a pronounced bitterness – well, the Fino doesn’t have any bitterness – but it has a sort of dryness to it, an acidity. Acidity can perform the same function that bitterness does in aperitifs, where it dries out the mouth a little or stimulates the production of your juices so that it sparks your hunger,” Clarke says.

If bitterness is a flavour we are programmed to be cautious of, how did it become so firmly rooted in everyday life in Europe? “Health movements in Europe in the 19th century were very focused on digestion,” explains Black. “Medicinal wines and vermouths were sold in pharmacies. If you had a poor appetite, you would drink one of these – an aperitif – before you ate to help stimulate your appetite. It then moved on from being a solely medicinal drink to something that was seen as good health practice.”

A number of the aperitifs that are still popular today started out as drinks designed to disguise the unpalatable tastes of certain remedies. “Dubonnet started out life by winning a competition in 1846 in which the French government was looking for ways to help French Foreign Legionnaires ingest quinine to battle malaria. On its own, it tastes incredibly bitter,” Clarke says. “Joseph Dubonnet came up with the concept of adding quinine to fortified wine, herbs and spices, which made it more palatable, but did the trick in terms of getting the soldiers in North Africa to drink it,” Clarke says.

In the 19th century, the role of the local pharmacist across Europe had much greater significance than it does now. “Local pharmacists concocted a number of their own remedies, a lot of which were alcohol-based,” says Black. “Two summers ago I came across this amazing book, Vini Medicinale (Medicinal Wines), which was basically a book for pharmacists dating back to 1889, and there were all different kinds of concoctions for a variety of ailments. So if you had stomach or digestive problems, or lung and respiratory problems or blood and circulation problems, there would be a certain base of wine – the book was very specific about which type of wine – most of which were fortified and had some sort of distillate added,” explains Black. “So really, I think the origins of this were that wine was seen as something that was generally good for your health, and then the additional herbs came from dentist mississauga of home-cures and remedies.

The bar is the social hub of the community. People drop in before work for breakfast and come back after work for an aperitif

“What really fascinates me is how aperitifs moved from being something medicinal to a social practice and a cultural phenomenon,” Black says. “Especially in Italy, it became entrenched. People liked it and as it lost its medicinal significance, it garnered more interest as a cultural and social practice, which is really what it’s about now.”

A lot of the significance around aperitif culture is down to the very different use of bars in Europe. Black says: “Bars in Europe generally, but especially in Italy, are very different to bars in the UK or the USA. The bar during the day is a place to drink coffee, but no one is getting drunk in a bar during the day. The bar is the social hub of the community. People drop in before work for breakfast and come back after work for an aperitif and to see their friends before they go home for their evening meal.”

Aperitivo hour is also still very much alive in Italy, where for the price of just one drink, you can eat for free.

“I remember being at university in Turin, going to the local bar and buying a Campari Soda, which would then get you access to a big buffet. Sure, you would maybe pay a little more for your drink, but you would eat for free.” (In this case, I can fully understand why ‘aperitivo hour’ hasn’t taken off in the UK; I’m not sure us Brits could be trusted to have just our fair share, resulting in the bar being left seriously out of pocket.)

Although part of the same family – both contain age-old recipes including herbs and botanicals – digestifs seem to be a more prominent feature of British drinking habits. Unlike aperitifs, which are generally served with a mixer, in almost all cases digestifs are served straight and, as the name suggests, they are supposed to aid digestion. 

In the US, Clarke says they are gaining a foothold. “As you might expect, it’s people in the industry that are enjoying them most – bartenders, drinks journalists and the like. A lot of it is a by-product of America’s cocktail culture; digestifs were pretty much non-existent for a while and now you are seeing them. A lot more are being sold, but seem to be being consumed in cocktail form, rather than straight as intended. They are visible in bars and restaurants, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that people know how to drink them.”

It is clear then that aperitifs are deeply rooted in European culture. Just as we Brits wouldn’t dream of going a day without a cup of tea, our European counterparts would never forfeit that delicious mix of botanicals before an evening meal. I can’t help but feel that right now I would trade my Earl Grey and slice of cake for a Campari Soda and prosciutto and olives but when push comes to shove, I’m a Brit … and with that, it’s time to put the kettle on. 

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