Choose other country guides
Italian Drinks
Italy, the country of great coffee, is also famous for its many alcoholic drinks. World-renowned Italian liqeurs such as Amaretto with its strong almond taste and aroma and Limoncello, a lemon liqeur from the south of Italy, are very popular with Italians and tourists alike. If you're a fan of vermouth, have a Martini, and if you like flaming drinks, order a Sambuca, a star anise Sicilian speciality served in shots which are usually lit by the barman. Tourists who aren't looking for such attractions can enjoy a glass of Prosecco, Italian sparkling wine, or a glass of the wonderful red wines from the Chianti region in Tuscany.
Amaretto is a very sweet liqueur which smells and tastes like almonds but in facts is made from a basic infusion of the stones of drupe fruits, for example peaches. The name derives from Italian
amaro, meaning 'bitter', which indicates the...
more
Cynar is an Italian bitter apéritif liqueur made from 13 herbs and plants. It owes its name and taste to
Cynara scolymus, an artichoke. It has a unique dark brown colour and bitter-sweet flavour. It can be drunk as an apéritif or as a...
more
Galliano is a popular alcoholic drink invented in 1896 by a famous Italian distiller Arturo Vaccari. It owes its exotic taste to star anise and vanilla. Usually bright yellow, it is sold in distinctive tall bottles which resemble the Eiffel Tower....
more
Popular lemon liqueur produced in Southern Italy, mainly around the Gulf of Naples and Islands of Ischia and Capri, but also in Sicily and Sardinia. It is made from lemon rinds, alcohol, water, and sugar. It has a bright yellow colour and sweet,...
more
Campari is an alcoholic apéritif made of bitter herbs, plants and fruit combined with alcohol and water. The history of Campari began in Novara in 1860. The recipe for this famous alcoholic drink was invented by Gaspare Campari and is still...
more
This small cup of very strong coffee, topped with a caramel-coloured foam called crema is an Italian equivalent of ordinary coffee. There are several variations such as:
Caffè lungo (weak coffee),
Caffè ristretto (very strong),...
more
Bellini, one of the best known cocktails all over the world, is originally a mixture of sparkling wine, usually Prosecco and peach purée . It was created between 1934 and 1948 by Giuseppe Cipriani, a barman in the famous Harry's Bar in Venice. The...
more
This exquisite fortified wine, with a deep amber colour and intense aroma is produced in the region of Marsala in Sicily. It owes its world-wide popularity to the English trader John Woodhouse., who in 1773 was the first to land at the port of...
more