If you’ve ever been lucky enough to wander into an Italian piazza around 6 p.m., you’ve seen something close to paradise. The amber glow of the evening sun spills over narrow streets and stone fountains. Stylish locals stroll into the town square to claim their spot at the café. Trays of spritzes and snacks glide through the crowd.
Italy’s relationship with cocktails is unlike anywhere else in the world. “It’s the prelude to the table,” says Andrea Notaro of La Roqqa. The tradition of aperitivo, which comes from the Latin word aperire (“to open”), is meant to prepare the stomach for dinner and is part of everyday life. “While Paris perfected precision and London perfected ceremony, Italy built its entire bar culture around a single, effortless, glamorous idea: that a drink should announce dinner, not conclude it,” says Chris Moore, director of beverage for Jean-Georges Restaurants.
Italian cocktail culture also stands out for its regional—not imported—flavors. Americans may have invented the modern cocktail, but Italy had all the elements ready once people started mixing. “We didn’t have to build a cocktail culture from scratch,” says Brando Baccheschi Berti of Castello di Vicarello. “Vermouth, amari, bitters—here these ingredients aren’t bar exotica, they’re things that sat in grandparents’ cupboards, with real regional roots.”
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Within the canon of great Italian cocktails, you’ll often find a shared structure: an Italian bitter, an Italian fortified wine, and something sparkling. “They are recipes that came out of the café as a cultural living room, rather than out of a cocktail bar,” Notaro explains. At the same time, Italian cocktails have a strong sense of place, each with its own identity and origin story. “Alpine amaros and drinks immediately transport you to the mountains, and aperitifs from the coast make you feel like you should be drinking them within view of the ocean,” says Kat Foster of Borgo.
“I particularly value that sense of place,” adds Giuseppe Lamparella, who leads Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria’s new bar, La Pergola. “Here in Sorrento, for example, citrus, Mediterranean herbs, and especially our lemons naturally become part of the language of the bar.”
In celebration of Vogue World 2026 Milan, continue below for an expert guide to the great Italian cocktails.
The Milano-Torino
Regarded as a forefather of Italian cocktails, the Milano-Torino is a quintessential order. “It combines bitter Campari from Milan and red vermouth from Turin, creating the sweet-and-bitter foundation of all national mixology,” says Ambrogio De Siano from Ischia’s San Montano Resort & Spa. The drink is lesser known these days and is often confused with the Americano, explains Borgo Santandrea’s head bartender Andrea Pinto. “The addition of soda is what transforms it into an Americano, but the Milano-Torino is beautifully simple and deserves to be rediscovered.”
How to make it: Pour equal parts Campari from Milan and red vermouth from Turin (an ounce-and-a-half each should do) into a glass with ice, stir gently, and garnish with a slice of orange.
The Americano
“Personally, I’d love to see more people ordering an Americano,” Eusebio says, who finds it has the perfect balance of sweet and bitter. “It’s a simple cocktail, but sometimes simple is exactly what you need.” The Americano is often overlooked in favor of the Negroni, but bartenders agree it’s both an elegant and versatile cocktail. “The combination of bitter aperitivo and sweet vermouth, lengthened with soda, makes it lighter and more refreshing than many classic cocktails, while retaining plenty of complexity,” says Francesco Adragna of Orient Express Venezia.
How to make it: Pour equal parts Campari and red vermouth (an ounce each) into a glass with ice, stir gently, top with club soda, and garnish with a slice of orange. For a more bitter, herbaceous profile, Austin Krudys of The Chloe suggests substituting Fernet Branca for the Campari.
TheNegroni
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An Italian cocktail so great it has its own week, the Negroni is truly timeless. “The story begins in Florence around 1919 when Count Camillo Negroni asked for a little more kick in his Americano,” Eusebio says. So, instead of soda water, the bartender reached for gin—and voilà, the Negroni was born. This change created what Adragna calls “a template for the modern Italian approach to balance: bitter, sweet, herbal, and spirit-forward all at once.” It also created a cocktail with a devoted following. “Bartenders continue to rely on the Negroni’s classic formula to craft their own variations,” Krudys adds.
How to make it: Pour equal parts Campari, red vermouth, and gin (an ounce each) into a mixing glass with ice, stir until cold, and strain the liquid into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with a slice of orange.
The Negroni Sbagliato
Many of us have Emma D’Arcy to thank for our awareness of the Negroni Sbagliato, while others have been ordering this “mistake” cocktail for years. “A drink that was initially made incorrectly becoming a beloved cocktail is sort of a microcosm of how cocktails often are created,” Foster says. The Sbagliato was born in Milan’s Bar Basso one busy evening when bartender Mirko Stocchetto accidentally grabbed a bottle of Prosecco instead of gin. The rest, as they say, is history. “Its [success is] not only a testament to how great a base a Negroni is, but a testament to the idea that there’s always room to tweak and expand upon existing formulas to create something new and delicious.”
How to make it: Pour one ounce Campari and one ounce red vermouth into a glass with ice, stir, top with one ounce prosecco, stir again gently to combine, and garnish with a slice of orange.
The Bicicletta
A cocktail that Foster declares a forgotten classic, the bicicletta is both approachable and refreshing. “I think I’ve only had someone cold order it maybe once or twice,” she says. “It’s such a simple drink, but anyone who likes a Campari spritz will like it.” The bicicletta is made with Campari, dry white wine, and a splash of soda—poured long over ice. “The drink is named, as the story goes, for the elderly Piedmontese men who’d cycle home from the bar after one too many, weaving just enough to earn the drink its name,” Moore says.
How to make it: Combine one-and-a-half ounces of Campari and three-and-a-half ounces of dry white wine in a glass with ice, stir, and top with two ounces of club soda. Peel an orange twist and express the oils. “You’ll often see a bicicletta garnished with an orange slice, which works, but expressing the oils from a twist gives the drink a lift and brightness,” Foster explains.
The Aperol Spritz
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While the modern Instagram feed is filled with snaps of picturesque spritzes, this tradition dates back to 19th-century Veneto, when the region was ruled by the Austrian Empire. During this period, soldiers diluted local wines they found to be too strong with a splash of water. The word spritz comes from the German verb spritzen, meaning “to splash.”
“The Spritz, especially the Aperol Spritz, has become a symbol of the Italian aperitivo,” Passalacqua’s Edoardo Eusebio says, “with variations made using different Italian bitters and aperitivo liqueurs, such as Campari, Select, and Cynar.”
How to make it: Using three ounces prosecco, two ounces Aperol, and one ounce club soda, pour all ingredients into a glass with ice, stir gently to combine, and garnish with a slice of orange.
The Cardinale
The Cardinale “has the depth of a Negroni, with a drier, more subtle character,” Saporium Firenze’s Nicola Spaggiari says. The cocktail was created in Rome in 1950 for a German cardinal who, as De Siano explains, wanted a less sweet Negroni. “The barman replaced the red vermouth with dry vermouth, resulting in a dry and elegant flavor profile.”
How to Make It: Pour equal parts Campari, dry vermouth, and gin (an ounce each) into a mixing glass with ice, stir until cold, and strain the thPour the liquid into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with a slice of orange.
The Garibaldi
“The Garibaldi is a cocktail I constantly wish more people had on their radar,” Krudys says. This simple drink is named after Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian general who played a key role in the Unification of Italy. “Made with just Campari and fresh orange juice, it represents the unification movement through its ingredients: the Campari comes from Milan, representing Northern Italy, while the orange juice represents Sicily and the south.”
How to make it: Add one and a half ounces of Campari and four ounces of orange juice to a tall glass filled with ice. Stir gently to combine and garnish with an orange slice.
The Bellini
Everyone’s favorite cocktail to order in Venice, the Bellini was created in the 1940s by Giuseppe Cipriani at Harry’s Bar, combining white peach purée with Prosecco. “Its delicate pink color reminded him of the tones in a painting by the Venetian artist Giovanni Bellini, which inspired the name,” Adragna says. “It celebrates the Italian instinct for using seasonal ingredients and letting them speak for themselves.”
How to make it: In a Champagne flute, combine one part fresh white peach purée with three parts chilled Prosecco.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs A Guide to Great Italian Cocktails
1 What is A Guide to Great Italian Cocktails about
Its a guide to classic and modern Italian cocktailstheir history ingredients and how to make them at home
2 What makes a cocktail Italian
Its a drink that originated in Italy or follows Italian stylethink aperitivo culture bitters like Campari and Aperol vermouth prosecco and simple balanced flavors
3 Which cocktails should a beginner start with
Start with an Aperol Spritz Negroni Americano or Bellini Theyre easy and need only a few ingredients
4 What is aperitivo and why does it matter
Aperitivo is Italys predinner ritual a light bitter drink meant to open your appetite Its the heart of Italian cocktail culture
5 Whats the difference between an Aperol Spritz and a Negroni
An Aperol Spritz is light bubbly and low in alcohol A Negroni is strong and bitter
6 What is vermouth and do I need it
Vermouth is a fortified aromatized wine Yesits essential for classics like the Negroni and Americano
7 Whats the difference between sweet and dry vermouth
Sweet vermouth is richer and works in Negronis Dry vermouth is lighter and used in drinks like the Americano or martinis
8 What is the classic Negroni ratio
The traditional ratio is 111equal parts gin Campari and sweet vermouth
9 What glassware do I actually need
A rocks glass for Negronis and Americanos a wine glass for spritzes and a coupe or martini glass for stirred drinks You dont need much else
10 Do I need fancy tools
No A jigger bar spoon strainer and shaker cover almost everything A measuring cup works if youre starting out
11 Whats the most common mistake beginners make
Using too much ice or skipping the chill Cold properly diluted drinks taste far better