Apéro snap!

Have you had a day? Hit the reset button with an apéritif, says Jeanne Calitz, and you’ll be right back on track for a pleasant evening

IT’S 5:30 PM.

The light is fading; the day is done. We could talk about what a day it’s been, too many emails; the house a mess; the bored toddler at home on her alternate school day; the dog who just had to be lying beneath your desk; the maxedout husband Zooming in the next room …

We could talk about that, but let’s not. Let’s not get into the day, because in the time of COVID-19, the days mostly all have capital Ds.

Let’s talk about nights. Tonight, to be exact. Sure, there might be chores waiting. But let’s just pause that nocturnal to-do list for a few minutes. Because what we actually need, right at this moment, is a buffer. We need a break. A gentle easing into the evening, a little ritual that says: just sit, for a second. Ladies and gentlemen, we need an apéritif.

The concept was dreamt up by the Italians and the French, who are adept at building moments of pause into their lives. Derived from the Latin word apéro, which means “to open”, the apéritif is designed to “awaken” the appetite before dinner.

I really like that word, apéro, “to open”. I like how it can refer not only to the appetite, but also to the beginning of the evening – an opening ceremony, of sorts. People talk about setting your intentions for the day. Well, the apéritif sets your intentions for the night. The intention to slow down and savour something, probably for the first time today.

So, what to pour? The apéritif casts its net quite wide. There are only two guidelines. Your drink can’t be too sweet, or it will dull the taste buds. And for the same reason, it can’t be too strong. Gin, vermouth, bubbles, dry white wine – it all goes. To make things slightly more complicated, the European amaro herbal liqueurs (or amari) have become firm apéritif favourites. These are meant to be enjoyed as a digéstif after dinner – but because they are light in alcohol and normally slightly bitter, they’re ideally suited to being apéritifs.

The martini is considered the perfect apéritif. It’s dry, and goodness knows it’s classy. For my part, it’s a bit too strong

(in the sense that there is really no “mix” to carry the alcohol) and it’s quite intimidating. I blame 007 for the latter.

Bubbles are always welcome, and the same goes for a glass of white. But sometimes you want something with a bit of a flourish, which is why I lean towards the vermouths, and the amari.

So here are a couple of current favourites. And who knows, after one of these you might even feel inspired to cook something delicious for dinner!