Apéritifs

Apéritif is a French word, which, like its Italian counterpart, aperitivo, comes from the Latin aperire, meaning “to open.”  It is pronounced [ah-pehr-uh-TEEF].

An important part of France's, Italy's, and other European countries' dining traditions, apéritifs are alcoholic beverages sipped as appetite-stimulating lead-ins to a meal.  (Think of them as the appetizers in the alcohol menu.)

Usually weighing in somewhere between 16 and 25 percent alcohol (compared to the 40-50+ percent found in spirits such as whiskey, gin, and vodka), apéritifs are meant to open up the palate, not sedate or overwhelm it.  (For this reason, overly sweet drinks are also avoided for this beverage course, but are saved for after the meal, as “digéstifs”).  An apéritif should be crisp, clean, and light.

Traditionally, apéritifs (before a meal) and digéstifs (after meal) are meant to bookend each other.