Recipes

A long, easy amaro and tonic over ice with an orange twist

Glass: Highball

Garnish: Orange twist

Tonic stretches a sweet amaro into an easy aperitivo; its quinine echoes the amaro's gentian while the orange twist lifts the citrus. Use a neutral tonic so the amaro stays in front.

Low-ABV aperitif with Campari

Glass: Highball

Garnish: Orange peel

The Negroni base diluted with soda instead of fortified with gin — bitterness and sweetness in equal measure, lengthened to a session-able strength. Orange bitters amplify the citrus already in the Campari peel; the result is the most efficient introduction to bitter aperitivo the cabinet allows.

Trinidad's house drink: a heavy dose of bitters lengthened with soda

Glass: Highball

Garnish: Lime wedge

Venetian aperitif with Aperol

Glass: Wine Glass

Garnish: Orange slice

Aperol's lower bitterness and citrus-rhubarb sweetness needs less dilution than Campari, which is why Prosecco does most of the lengthening and soda only thins the mid-palate. The Prosecco's residual sugar matches Aperol's, so the bubbles carry the aroma without the drink turning sweet.

Non-alcoholic aromatic bitters with ginger beer and lime

Glass: Highball

Garnish: Lime wheel and candied ginger

Non-alcoholic aromatic bitters replicate the warming spice complexity of classic bitters-forward highballs. Ginger beer's natural bite pairs with the aromatic spice to create genuine depth without alcohol; lime supplies the acid that keeps the drink from turning syrupy.

Italian aperitivo of Campari and lager topped with soda — the beer cousin of the wine-based classic

Glass: Wine Glass

Garnish: Lemon wheel

Northern Italian cyclist's drink — Campari's bitter orange laid over a light lager extends the beer's hop bitterness into citrus. The soda lightens; the lemon wheel scents the rim. A beer-and-aperitif crossover that reads more like a long Campari Spritz than a cocktail.

Non-alcoholic citrus bitters with tonic and grapefruit

Glass: Highball

Garnish: Grapefruit slice

A refreshing non-alcoholic highball that uses non-alcoholic orange bitters to bring complexity to tonic water and fresh grapefruit juice. Demonstrates how non-alcoholic bitters can create genuinely interesting mocktails rather than mere juice drinks.

Non-alcoholic orange bitters with orange juice and grenadine

Glass: Collins

Garnish: Orange slice

A non-alcoholic riff on the Tequila Sunrise structure, using non-alcoholic orange bitters to add depth and complexity to orange juice and grenadine. The bitters transform what would be a simple juice drink into something with genuine cocktail character.

A French cafe aperitif: quinquina wine with cassis and soda

Glass: Wine Glass

Garnish: Lemon twist

Cassis deepens Byrrh's red-wine and quinine notes while soda makes it a light, low-proof aperitif; a lemon twist keeps the sweetness in check.

Espresso "corrected" with a shot of Concerto, Don Ciccio's coffee-and-cocoa amaro

Glass: Espresso Cup

Garnish: None

Concerto is already a coffee amaro, so it corrects espresso with cocoa, liquorice and caramel rather than fighting it. A short pour keeps it a coffee, not a cocktail.

Sparkling wine cocktail with sugar and bitters

Glass: Champagne Flute

Garnish: Lemon peel

The bitters-soaked sugar cube is the entire point — it sits at the bottom of the flute releasing aromatic spice and a steady stream of bubbles for the entire drink. Cognac fortifies; Champagne dilutes upward over time. Each sip changes as the cube dissolves.

Italian artichoke bitter aperitif spritz

Glass: Wine Glass

Garnish: Orange slice

A simple aperitivo showcase for Cynar, the Italian artichoke-based bitter liqueur. The spritz format tempers Cynar's earthy bitterness with effervescence, making it an approachable introduction to this distinctive ingredient.

The Argentine national drink — a tall, icy mix of Fernet-Branca and Coca-Cola, known locally as fernandito

Glass: Highball

Garnish: None

Argentina's national mixed drink — Coca-Cola's caramel and vanilla are the same flavour notes Fernet's herbal-bitter base happens to undercut, so the cola sweetens and aromatises in one move. The result tastes neither like Fernet nor like Coke; the two cancel each other into something amaro-light and surprisingly drinkable.

The "bartender's handshake" — an ounce of Fernet-Branca with an IPA back

Glass: Shot and Pint

Garnish: None

Hop bitterness from a West Coast IPA and amaro bitterness from Fernet are different bitter compounds — alpha acids vs. iridoid glycosides — and they don't compete on the same axis. The result is a layered bitterness that reads as complementary rather than additive, with the beer's carbonation carrying Fernet's menthol up.

A crisp Japanese-style highball lifted with ginger bitters

Glass: Highball

Garnish: Lemon wedge

Ginger bitters add heat without sugar, which is why the highball stays crisp; the whole point is dilution and cold, so use plenty of ice and drink it fast.

German herbal mule with ginger beer

Glass: Copper Mug

Garnish: Lime wheel

Jägermeister is already a 56-botanical herbal liqueur — the ginger beer's spice extends Jäger's anise and licorice rather than competing with them, and lime cuts the syrupy weight. Two dashes of Angostura tighten the aromatics into something that drinks faster than its sweetness would suggest.

Australia's pub refresher: lemonade, lime and a coat of Angostura

Glass: Highball

Garnish: Lime wheel

Italian aperitif cocktail with Campari

Glass: Old Fashioned

Garnish: Orange peel

Three components in equal measure means none can dominate — Campari's bitterness, sweet vermouth's vanilla-spice, and gin's botanical spine reach the palate together. The drink is a balance demonstration: each ingredient supplies what the other two lack, and the orange peel pulls Campari's citrus to the front.

Non-alcoholic Orleans bitters with cranberry, lime, and soda

Glass: Old Fashioned

Garnish: Lemon peel

Inspired by New Orleans Creole flavours, this non-alcoholic fizz uses Orleans-style bitters with their anise and cherry character to transform cranberry juice into something evocative of classic Sazerac territory without the alcohol.

Gin seasoned with Angostura bitters — the Royal Navy's cocktail

Glass: Coupe

Garnish: Lemon twist

A smoky-rhubarb spritz: rabarbaro amaro, sparkling wine and soda

Glass: Wine Glass

Garnish: Grapefruit half-wheel

Prosecco's effervescence lifts the rhubarb smoke and grapefruit echoes the gentle bitterness; build it in this order so the soda settles the foam rather than raising it.

Negroni variation with Prosecco instead of gin

Glass: Wine Glass

Garnish: Orange slice

"Mistaken" Negroni — Prosecco where gin should be — gentler, lower in ABV, and prismatically aromatic because the bubbles carry every botanical at once. Equal parts means equal weight; the Prosecco's slight sweetness softens the Campari's edge without flattening it.

Bright Aperol and gin highball with fresh lime and soda

Glass: Highball

Garnish: Citrus wheel

Aperol-and-soda is the base; gin and lime convert it from spritz to sour in one move. The gin botanicals echo Aperol's rhubarb and gentian without doubling them, and the soda lengthens the drink to porch-sipping strength. A bright, low-ABV summer cocktail with real aromatic structure.

French gentian aperitif spritz

Glass: Wine Glass

Garnish: Lemon peel

Suze's gentian root is bone-dry and floral-bitter, which is why the format leans on Prosecco's residual sugar more than an Aperol Spritz does — the wine sweetens what the liqueur won't. Orange bitters and the peel pull citrus through, taming the gentian without softening it.