Italy Drinks

The Negroni cocktail was created in 1919 in Florence, in the Caffè Giacosa bar, located on Tornabuoni Street. The story tells about Count Camillo Negroni, who asked the bartender Luigi Scarselli to replace soda with gin in the Americano cocktail. The new cocktail was called "Fashionable Americano from Count Negroni." Later, only the count's surname remained. The Negroni recipe is based on three equal parts of gin, campari, and vermouth, mixed and poured into a low and wide glass of old fashion, decorated with a slice of orange.
When the Negroni cocktail gained popularity, various variations on this theme appeared, but the greatest success came to the "Erroneous Negroni." The mycological blunder happened in 1969, Mirko Stockatto, the historic Milan bar Basso bartender, added prosecco instead of gin. Many people liked the sparkling version.

Cocktail "Americano," despite its name, is a 100% Italian product invented in Milan. He became the predecessor of Negroni and the forerunner of Milan - Turin. The cocktail is made from the beater, red vermouth, and soda. There are different versions of the origin of the cocktail. One of them says that the drink appeared in the 1930s. The other calls the year 1860 and indicates the Camparino bar in Milan. It is assumed that the cocktail is named after the boxer Primo Carner, who became the first Italian heavyweight world champion at a competition in America.

Big fan of espresso, latte macchiato or cappuccino? Did you know that these are all Italian words? The culture of coffee-drinking in Italy plays a special role in the everyday life of the locals and, surprisingly, coffee is a very popular drink of Italy. One of the most famous Italian coffee brands is Lavazza coffee, so make sure to taste a cup during your trip to Italy.

Aranciata is a drink based on orange juice, water, sugar, and carbon dioxide. This is a more natural analog of Fanta, invented in 1932. The company Sanpelligrino (Sanpellegrino) produces Aranciata in two versions: ordinary and bitter. Thanks to the high water quality and the natural taste of orange, the drink has overtaken its American counterpart in sales.

Crodino is a non-alcoholic Italian aperitif. It appeared on the beverage market on December 1, 1964, under the name Picador, then became "Blonde" (Biondino), and on July 14, 1965, acquired its final modern name. Although, the recipe of the drink is kept secret. It is only known that there are cloves, cardamom, coriander, and nutmeg among the components. The solution is infused in oak barrels to give it a characteristic bitterness. Krodino has an orange color and a spicy taste. It is consumed independently and as part of non-alcoholic cocktails.

Although the tap water in Italy is of good quality, it is not advisable to drink it. It is safe to drink water from the tap but it might not taste good and thus it's better to consume bottled water.

Interestingly though, in Rome there are over 2500 drinking fountains dotting the city with absolutely safe to drink water that comes from ancient aqueducts. These fountains are called "nasoni", most of them are hundreds of years old and are part of the water network developed way back in the Roman Empire and still function perfectly today.