Aperitif Cocktails
Explore 81 Aperitif cocktail recipes.
Aperitif cocktails are designed to do one thing — wake the appetite up. They sit on the bitter, dry, low-alcohol side of the table, the opposite end from the dessert cocktail, with bright citrus and bitter herbs doing the work of pulling the palate awake. The Negroni is the canonical example: gin, Campari and sweet vermouth in equal measures, stirred over ice and finished with an orange peel, served before dinner because it draws hunger out rather than dulling it.
The Aperol Spritz is the lighter highball version of the same idea: Aperol, prosecco and a splash of soda over ice, a third the strength and twice the sociability. The Americano makes the Negroni a long drink. The Sidecar, the Gin and Tonic and the Garibaldi all earn their place on the list, each pulling the same trick from a different angle — bitterness, citrus, structure.
What ties this list together is restraint. Aperitif cocktails serve the meal that follows, not themselves. Most are low-strength, most are stirred or built rather than shaken, most run drier than sweet, and most pair unusually well with crisps, olives or anything salt-heavy.
The trick is to stop at one — these drinks are meant to set up dinner, not replace it.
Our top Aperitif cocktail
Sidecar
Cognac, Triple sec, Lemon juice
More top Aperitif cocktails
Lavender French 75
Gin, Champagne / prosecco, Sirop de lavande, Lemon juice
Martini Perfect
Dry gin, Vermouth bianco, Vermouth rosso, Aromatic bitters
Boulevardier
Bourbon, Campari, Red vermouth
Negroni
Gin, Campari, Red vermouth
Dry Martini Montgomery's
Dry gin, Vermouth blanc, Orange bitters
Garibaldi
Campari, Sucre / sirop simple, Jus d'orange
Dry Martini 'Preferred'
Dry gin, Vermouth blanc, Orange bitters
Tuscan Blue Fizz
Gin, Sirop de romarin, Soda water
Metropole
Cognac, Vermouth blanc, Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters, Sirop de gomme, Orange bitters
Velo
Dry gin, Liqueur de fleur de sureau, Jus de citron vert, Sirop de fruit de la passion, Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters
White Mezcal Negroni
Mezcal, Vermouth blanc, Domaine La Bohème Gentiane Extra Bitter Apéritif
New Yorker
Whiskey, DOM Benedictine, Grenadine
Lavender French 75
Gin, Champagne / prosecco, Sirop de lavande, Lemon juice
Martini Perfect
Dry gin, Vermouth bianco, Vermouth rosso, Aromatic bitters
Boulevardier
Bourbon, Campari, Red vermouth
Negroni
Gin, Campari, Red vermouth
Dry Martini Montgomery's
Dry gin, Vermouth blanc, Orange bitters
Garibaldi
Campari, Sucre / sirop simple, Jus d'orange
Dry Martini 'Preferred'
Dry gin, Vermouth blanc, Orange bitters
Tuscan Blue Fizz
Gin, Sirop de romarin, Soda water
Metropole
Cognac, Vermouth blanc, Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters, Sirop de gomme, Orange bitters
Velo
Dry gin, Liqueur de fleur de sureau, Jus de citron vert, Sirop de fruit de la passion, Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters
White Mezcal Negroni
Mezcal, Vermouth blanc, Domaine La Bohème Gentiane Extra Bitter Apéritif
New Yorker
Whiskey, DOM Benedictine, Grenadine
More top Aperitif cocktails
Lavender French 75
Gin, Champagne / prosecco, Sirop de lavande, Lemon juice
Martini Perfect
Dry gin, Vermouth bianco, Vermouth rosso, Aromatic bitters
Boulevardier
Bourbon, Campari, Red vermouth
Negroni
Gin, Campari, Red vermouth
Dry Martini Montgomery's
Dry gin, Vermouth blanc, Orange bitters
Garibaldi
Campari, Sucre / sirop simple, Jus d'orange
Dry Martini 'Preferred'
Dry gin, Vermouth blanc, Orange bitters
Tuscan Blue Fizz
Gin, Sirop de romarin, Soda water
Metropole
Cognac, Vermouth blanc, Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters, Sirop de gomme, Orange bitters
Velo
Dry gin, Liqueur de fleur de sureau, Jus de citron vert, Sirop de fruit de la passion, Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters
White Mezcal Negroni
Mezcal, Vermouth blanc, Domaine La Bohème Gentiane Extra Bitter Apéritif
New Yorker
Whiskey, DOM Benedictine, Grenadine
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