Arrivederci classic Italian cocktails

Arrivederci classic Italian cocktailsRight before I left for Italy, a reader sent me a note: “Please teach them how to make a Negroni.” I thought it was a joke, until I arrived.

Italy is well known throughout the cocktail world. In fact, a large part of why I went there was to research a new cocktail guide. What better place to start than the birthplace of the Aperol Spritz, the Bellini and perhaps most famously, the Negroni?

Venice is the birthplace of the Bellini. It is undisputed, unlike almost every other cocktail. The only thing in dispute is when. It was invented on the Venetian waterfront, a stone's throw from St. Mark's cathedral somewhere between 1934 and 1948. World War II makes exact timing problematic, as do the Italian politics of the time.

Indisputably, it was invented at Harry's Bar by the bar's owner, Giuseppe Cipriani. Made of puréed white peaches and Prosecco, Cipriani named it the Bellini because its light pink color reminded him of a painting by the Italian master. And you can still get it there, through the famous swinging saloon-style doors. Except for a few things.

They ain't no dummies, as the line of tourists waiting to pay for one — myself included — will attest.

Harry's really hits the Cipriani name pretty hard. In fact, the menu and the front door as well as the QR code for the restaurant's ordering system feature both names, with only the front door giving “Harry's” prominence.

The traditional Bellini is just two ingredients: white peach and Prosecco. However, Harry's/ Cipriani's current Bellini is quite pink, pinker than one can really get with just the skin of a puréed white peach. The flesh of a white peach is white but the skin is light pink, and that is where the color comes from. But Harry's/Cipriani's doesn't let you see the ingredients used, and there is no photography allowed inside — “in solidarity with Kodak workers” according to the menu, whatever that means — so verification and corroboration are hard to come by. And its Bellini costs $22, more than three times what a typical cocktail goes for in Italy. They ain't no dummies, as the line of tourists waiting to pay for one — myself included — will attest. Beef Carpaccio was also invented there, or so they say, and a plate of the thinly sliced raw beef drizzled with Dijon mustard will set you back $42, an obscene amount compared to every other restaurant in Venice. Don't say you haven't been warned.