The Italians do it right: they have aperitivo hour, a time when friends get together and enjoy a snack and a classic Italian cocktail like a Negroni or a spritz to cleanse the palette before indulging in dinner. The aperitivo hour is a way of life in Italian culture and certainly beloved by anyone who partakes.
Now, you don’t have to cross the ocean to enjoy that magic hour vibe. Bar Fiori, the bar and lounge attached to Ai Fiori at Langham Place New York, is recreating this European ritual thanks to head bartender Pete Stanton’s newly launched Aperitivi menu.
Featuring four different specialty cocktails – all low ABV, by the way – the selections from Bar Fiori’s Aperitivi menu are the ideal to kick off your evening’s drinking and eating activities.
Bar Fiori Aperitivi menu cocktails
Autumn Thistle
A seasonal riff on the Aperol spritz, with cardamon-infused Cynar, a bittersweet artichoke-based liqueur and Ciderie du Vulcain Premiers Emois cider beer, topped off with lemon and vanilla
Mattiussi Fizz
Named for an Italian Franciscan monk who led a mission to Indonesia in the 14th century, this drink is a classic fizz, light and refreshing with Green Chartreuse; Duan Salam – an Indonesian herb that adds floral notes – and celery bitters. The name Mattiussi comes from an Italian Franciscan monk led a pioneer mission commissioned by the Pope to Indonesia in the 14th century
Chinotto Cobbler
This drink is Stanton’s take on the Sherry Cobbler, a cocktail popular in the mid-to-late 19th century which was (fun fact!) integral in introducing the straw to America, made here with Valdespino Fino sherry and a housemade tincture with bitter Seville orange and dried French tarragon for an extra kick.
Americano in Paris
We love a classic Americano cocktail, and Staton ups the ante by replacing the typical Campari with French pastes and adding lemon verbena vermouth.
Don’t worry – you are getting fed here too: each cocktail comes with a skillet of housemade cheesy popcorn. So go now and try all the drinks, Italian aperitivi style.
Bar Fiori details
400 5th Ave., 2nd Floor, 212-613-8660, www.aifiorinyc.com
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