13 Underrated Italian Cocktails You Should Try At Least Once

Italians love taking their time enjoying everything, so much so that they even dedicate a few daily hours to catching up with friends over drinks and snacks, which they call aperitivo. The weekly ritual of laughing through cocktail sips is a fine example of what cocktail culture means to Italy, and how it's never about just grabbing a quick drink.

The classics are classic for a reason, but Negronis and Aperol spritzes aren't all Italy has to offer the palate. The cocktails of Italy are just as diverse as its cuisine, with different amari, bitters, fruits, and even techniques used in different corners of the country. Behind the bar, I've observed what makes Italian mixology truly unique, and if I had one word to describe the region's cocktails, it would be balance. Sugar is used as an accentuator, not a foundation. It's not easy to weave Italy's bitter bottles with contrasting flavors, but they've figured it out with these 13 cherished, deeply underrated cocktails. 

You might have heard of the Americano ordered at the cafe, but it is also a light, crisp cocktail made with just three ingredients. Before the Negroni became a Hollywood star in the cocktail world, there was the Americano. It's made with all the same ingredients, except gin — Campari, sweet vermouth, and soda water. It's traditionally served in a highball filled with thick chunks of ice and garnished with a juicy orange. It's bittersweet yet refreshing, like most Italian aperitifs.

A variation of the cocktail was first mixed up in the 1860s at Gaspare Campari's bar, Caffé Campari, and it was called the "Milano-Torino" after its ingredients. Milan, the home of Campari, and Turin, the land of sweet vermouth, inspired the cocktail. Its name evolved into Americano sometime in the 20th century, after the traveling Americans who adored the spritz. The simple triage of ingredients became the foundation of so many classic cocktails to come. The Boulevardier is another that evolved from the Americano, with bourbon added rather than gin.

This thirst-quenching cocktail is the most refreshing sip (or spoonful) on a hot day. Partially frozen, the tart cocktail could be eaten rather than slurped if blended on the thicker side. It's made with vodka, lemon sorbet, and a splash of prosecco. Some recipes include a ¼ ounce of cream, which turns the frothy cocktail into more of a milkshake than sorbetto. The ingredients are blended together to create a light, almost slushy-like fluidity. It's typically garnished with a wedge of lemon or grated zest, but Giada De Laurentiis likes to finish the cocktail with some chopped fresh mint instead.

The sgroppino originated in Venice as a post-meal decompressor, directly translating to "un-tie" as in un-tie a full stomach after a decadent feast. It supposedly has roots dating all the way back to the 1500s, serving as the highlight of Venetian dinners. The frosty cocktail hasn't really made itself known in the U.S. yet, although frozen cocktails like daiquiris and margaritas make a huge hit as soon as the summer season hits.

The Hugo is another refreshing, low ABV spritz that hails from Northern Italy. It's light, juicy, and the ultimate lunchtime spritz. After years of bartending in Switzerland, Roland "Ak" Gruber brought the cocktail back to his hometown of South Tyrol in 2005. Today it's typically made with elderflower liqueur like St. Germain, but back when Gruber first designed the drink, he used lemon balm syrup, prosecco, and soda water to create the crisp, floral cocktail. The elegant drink is typically garnished with lemon or lime, and fresh mint is often added as a finishing touch. Gruber originally named the spritz Otto, but later swapped it for Hugo after making the switch to elderflower liqueur.

It's a newer addition to Italy's cocktail repertoire when compared to the classics dating back centuries, but it's become a timeless classic. Some places call it a Hugo spritz, while others drop the spritz and just go by Hugo. The push of popularity led to the cocktail being bottled by a handful of brands like Black Lines and Saraceni Wines, and even canned by Saint Spritz. It might have taken some time to catch up to its predecessors, but the Hugo spritz is getting its moment.

Caffè Corretto is Italian for any spiked espresso, and the basis of all boozy caffeinated cocktails to follow. The name is clever, meaning a coffee "corrected" with a shot of sambuca or brandy, typically Grappa. It's become more of a ritual than a specific recipe, which makes its origin story a little hazy, but it's said to have been first introduced by farmers and laborers looking to warm up with a little liquor in their morning coffee.

In Rome, anisette is often the correction of choice, while in Sicily, local amaro is more often used. The concept has inspired countless variations all over the world, and not just the espresso martini. Spanish "carajillo" and Portuguese "café com cheirinho" follow similar principles, while modern coffee cocktails owe a huge debt to this Italian classic. In upscale coffee establishments all over the globe, baristas now experiment with small-batch spirits and single-origin espressos to create heightened versions of this humble Italian cocktail.

A lighter Negroni, this cocktail translates to "mistaken" Negroni, as it wasn't created with intention. As the story goes, bartender Mirko Stocchetto topped a customer's Negroni with prosecco rather than gin. It was a big oops, but he decided to roll with it, and it became a hit. This sparkling Negroni variation maintains the equal-parts formula of the original, combining Campari and sweet vermouth but replacing gin with Prosecco or any other Italian sparkling wine. The result is a lighter, more aerated cocktail with the characteristic bittersweet profile that defines Italian aperitivi, usually garnished with an orange slice or peel.

While it took decades to gain international recognition, the sbagliato finally experienced its five minutes of fame in the 2010s as spritz menus exploded in bars all over the world. International variations now include twists on the classic with specialized vermouths, regional bitter liqueurs in place of Campari, or different sparkling wines like Cava or Champagne. 

Here is another cocktail that's very close to a Negroni, but it uses dry vermouth rather than sweet. It seems like half of the Italian cocktails out there are a play on the Negroni, and it makes sense. The most beloved liqueurs of Italy, like Campari and Vermouth, are bitter and complex. The Cardinale is one of the more elegant takes on the Negroni, and it deserves the same praised recognition. Created in Rome during the 1950s, likely at the Hotel Excelsior's Quirinale bar, it was supposedly named for a cardinal who frequently enjoyed the cocktail. The cocktail substitutes dry vermouth for the Negroni's sweet but sticks with the gin and Campari, creating a drier, more sophisticated flavor profile. Traditionally garnished with a lemon twist rather than orange, the Cardinale highlights the citrus notes in both the gin and Campari.

Outside Italy, the Cardinale remains somewhat obscure but has found champions among craft cocktail bartenders who appreciate its subtle complexity. In France, variations might include a splash of Lillet Blanc instead of dry vermouth, and over in America bartenders may play with house-made botanical infusions to complement the drink's herbaceous flavor. 

We know limoncello, a popular Italian lemon liqueur, but it's traditionally served all by its lonesome. As delicious as the stiff, citrusy spirit is solo, the strong flavor can benefit from a little spritz. When stirred into a tonic, limoncello becomes another summertime spritz that's nice and tart while being strong enough to catch a buzz. With only two ingredients that are right in the name, even the most novice of bartenders can whip this up on a sweltering day. It's the drink of the Amalfi Coast; classy, refreshing, and easy drinking. 

Most Italian spritzes incorporate a sparkling wine of sorts to add some effervescence, but that's not necessary with limoncello's strong flavor profile. The bitter tonic balances the fragrant sweetness of Sorrento lemons, the traditional choice for limoncello, while still giving the drink a little pop of bubbles. A sprinkle of a robust herb like rosemary or basil is often garnished or even muddled into the cocktail for some added depth.

Before the Aperol spritz, there was Lombardy's Pirlo, a bitter, low ABV spritz made with Campari. It greatly represents its region — Brescia — where residents savor locally made white wine and Campari. Pirlo is a Northern Italian tradition, and the perfect spritz for Campari fans. White wine swirled with Campari makes this bitter yet refreshing spritz. The name is a twist on the Italian expression "pirlar," nodding to the vibrant swirl of red and white. Garnishes range, but a thick orange wedge is the most common, as it's Campari's top sidekick.

Unlike the common Aperol spritz, which is topped with prosecco or sparkling wine, the Pirlo uses a still white. This allows the region's wine to shine through and carry the cocktail, without the effervescence of sparkling vino getting in the way. With Campari on the rise all over the world, the Pirlo is an easy-drinking crowd pleaser, but it's not as standard everywhere as it is for Lombardy locals.

Many Italian cocktails are easily identified by their lingering bitter taste, and the Mezzo e Mezzo is no different, although it's made with a less mainstream apertif — Mezzoemezzo Nardini. The Bassano-made liqueur is one of Italy's most unique creations, made centuries ago and still just as appreciated today. The flavors are strong, yet hard to pinpoint, but fruity rhubarb and citrus lead the flavor profile. It tastes like it was always the intended flavor, but bottled Mezzo e Mezzo is actually a blend of two Italian liqueurs: Rosso Nardini and Rabarbaro Nardini. The blend is equal parts of the Amaro and sweet vermouth, first discovered at Grapperia Nardini, Italy's longest-standing distillery.

Given its complex earthy flavor, it doesn't really need much other than a glass and some ice to transform into an invigorating cocktail that tickles your cheeks with each sip. The Mezzo e Mezzo cocktail is primarily its aperitif star, but topped with a splash of soda water and garnished with a lemon peel. It wasn't until 2017 that the blend could be purchased when Nardini Distillery bottled the aperitivo, making the cocktail even easier to shake and serve.

Here we have another spritz that's almost entirely forgotten these days. Once the drink of the '70s, the Biancosarti spritz is one of the few cocktails that still celebrates the white Italian spiced liqueur. Made from dozens of herbs, roots, and botanicals, Biancosarti stands out from the other Italian aperitifs with its lighter body. The spritzes we often see, at least in the States, are deeper hues of red, pink, and orange, but the Biancosarti spritz stands out with its strikingly golden color.

The recipe follows the classic spritz formula: poured over ice with a splash of prosecco and a twist of citrus. It's often made a bit stiffer with a touch of gin and sweetened with a half pour of peach liqueur. It's harder to find Biancosarti outside of Italy, but the concept of white bitter spritzes is gaining international traction, and fast. Creative bartenders worldwide are creating variations using alternatives like Suze, Luxardo Bitter Bianco, or house-made white bitter liqueurs.

The Garibaldi is yet another simple Italian cocktail that celebrates Campari, but without giving it all of the attention. The vibrant, almost ombré coloring of the cocktail would have one assume it was layered with a variety of complex ingredients, but the Garibaldi is made with just two ingredients: Campari and OJ. Rather than providing a gentle buffer of soda water, this cocktail livens Campari up with fresh orange juice. 

It's incredibly fruity and sweet, but its history might be the most interesting thing about this cocktail. It is named after an Italian hero, Giuseppe Garibaldi. The idea behind the cocktail was to intertwine something of Northern Italy — Campari — with something of Southern Italy — oranges — to create a unified drink symbolizing the harmonious unification of the country post-war. As Campari becomes one of the most universally adored liqueurs, Italian-inspired bars are often exploring the cocktail.

A stark difference from the sophisticated spritzes and bitter cocktails on this list, the Angelo Azzurro is Italy's fun, sweet, and incredibly blue party drink of the '80s and '90s. It was Giovanni "Mammina" Pepè who first whipped up the drink in Rome, but it was more than just fun dancing fuel. Mammina created the sugary cocktail in honor of the city's newest gay nightclub, L'Angelo Azzurro, and it became the trademark drink of the community.

Translating to "blue angel," the bright turquoise cocktail could be spotted from a mile away. Its technicolor is thanks to blue Curaçao, which is mixed with gin, triple sec, and Luxardo Bitter Bianco, a bitter citrus liqueur infused with complex spices. In the States, the Blue Hawaii is our Blue Curaçao drink of choice, but Italy's favorite has become far less sugary over time.

Bitter Bianco was apparently only added by an American bartender decades later. Considering the piercing sweetness of the OG recipe, Nick Palmeri of Nevada's Gaetano's Ristorante shook the cocktail with Bitter Bianco to create a more balanced sweetness in the cocktail.

When it comes to coffee-based cocktails, this may be the recipe that started it all. That espresso martini wave? We can thank Italy's Livorno punch, or ponce alla Livornese, as they would say. Just as the infamous caffeinated martini, Livorno punch starts with espresso and sugar, but it's further sweetened with a warm, spiced rum, typically Rumme, and a lemon peel. It's lighter than the more syrupy coffee drinks we're accustomed to in the U.S., but it remains strong thanks to Italy's killer coffee beans.

It's rare to see a rum listed in an Italian cocktail recipe, but that just makes this so-called punch all the more special. Rum is notoriously enjoyed out at sea, often associated with pesky pirates or travelers on "island time," so its inclusion in Livorno punch is fitting given the cocktail was born in the port city of Livorno. Caribbean rum was just a hop and a skip from the shore, and it quickly became intertwined with the coastal town and all of Western Tuscany.