Aperitivo Hour · Dinner · Digestivo
The Uncle Larry Italian Beverage Menu
67 Italian drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic — how each one is built, how it is served, and exactly when Larry reaches for it.
Part One · Alcoholic
Bitter first, bubbles second, amaro last.
Aperitivi
The pre-dinner ritual
Bitter, low-proof and built to wake up an appetite. In Italy the aperitivo is not a drink, it is an hour — and Larry has never once ended it on time.
Spritz Veneziano
Bitter orange, sparkling, 8% ABV
- Build
- 3 parts Prosecco · 2 parts Aperol · 1 splash soda water
- Serve
- Large wine glass, packed with ice, orange slice
Prosecco first, Aperol second. Pouring in reverse leaves the bitter sitting on the bottom.
How to make it →Pairs with
Sharper, redder, 10% ABV
- Build
- 3 parts Prosecco · 2 parts Campari · splash of soda
- Serve
- Wine glass, ice, half orange wheel
For people who think Aperol is dessert.
How to make it →Bitter, stirred, 24% ABV
- Build
- 1 oz gin · 1 oz Campari · 1 oz sweet vermouth
- Serve
- Rocks glass, one big cube, wide orange peel
Stir 30 seconds. Never shake — a cloudy Negroni is a confession.
How to make it →Pairs with
The “mistaken” Negroni
Sparkling, softer, 12% ABV
- Build
- 1 oz Campari · 1 oz sweet vermouth · top with Prosecco
- Serve
- Rocks or wine glass, ice, orange peel
Born when a Milan bartender grabbed sparkling wine instead of gin. Best mistake in Italy.
How to make it →Pairs with
Long, bitter, 9% ABV
- Build
- 1½ oz Campari · 1½ oz sweet vermouth · top with soda
- Serve
- Highball, ice, lemon and orange peel
The Negroni's older, calmer brother. Two is a normal number.
How to make it →Pairs with
Mi-To
Two ingredients, 16% ABV
- Build
- 1½ oz Campari (Milano) · 1½ oz Vermouth di Torino
- Serve
- Rocks glass, ice, orange peel
The original from 1860. Everything else on this list descends from it.
How to make it →Pairs with
Bitter and citrus, 11% ABV
- Build
- 2 oz Campari · 4 oz fluffy fresh orange juice
- Serve
- Highball, crushed ice
The juice must be aerated — blend or shake it until it foams.
How to make it →Wine-based, 9% ABV
- Build
- 2 oz Campari · 3 oz dry white wine · splash soda
- Serve
- Wine glass, ice, lemon wedge
Named for how Milanese regulars rode home afterwards. Allegedly.
How to make it →Pairs with
Elderflower and mint, 7% ABV
- Build
- 3 parts Prosecco · 1 part elderflower syrup · splash soda · mint · lime
- Serve
- Wine glass, ice, mint slapped once
Born in Alto Adige, now the northern Italian answer to the Aperol Spritz. Lighter and far less sweet.
How to make it →Spritz Veneziano originale
Venetian bitter, rhubarb and juniper, 9% ABV
- Build
- 3 parts Prosecco · 2 parts Select · splash soda · one olive
- Serve
- Rocks or wine glass, ice, green olive
In Venice the garnish is an olive, not an orange. Argue about it there and you will lose.
How to make it →Artichoke bitter, savory, 8% ABV
- Build
- 3 parts Prosecco · 2 parts Cynar · splash soda
- Serve
- Wine glass, ice, orange slice
Yes, artichoke. It drinks like cola for adults and it is the best spritz before a fatty plate.
How to make it →
Italian Cocktails
Bar classics with an Italian passport
Venice, Milan and Florence gave the world half the cocktail canon. These are the ones worth mixing at home.
Peach and Prosecco, 8% ABV
- Build
- 2 oz white peach purée · 4 oz cold Prosecco
- Serve
- Chilled flute, no ice
Invented at Harry's Bar in Venice. Yellow peaches make it sweet; white peaches make it right.
How to make it →Strawberry and Prosecco, 8% ABV
- Build
- 2 oz strawberry purée · 4 oz Prosecco
- Serve
- Flute
Strain the purée or it clogs the bubbles.
How to make it →Coffee, sharp, 20% ABV
- Build
- 1½ oz vodka · 1 oz fresh espresso · ¾ oz coffee liqueur · ¼ oz simple syrup
- Serve
- Coupe, three coffee beans on the foam
Shake hard with ice for 15 seconds — that violence is what makes the crema.
How to make it →Pairs with
Frozen lemon, 12% ABV
- Build
- 3 scoops lemon sorbet · 1 oz vodka · 3 oz Prosecco
- Serve
- Chilled coupe, whisked not blended
Venetian palate cleanser. Serve between courses or after a plate of sausage and peppers.
How to make it →Sweet-tart, 11% ABV
- Build
- 2 oz limoncello · 3 oz Prosecco · splash soda
- Serve
- Wine glass, ice, lemon wheel, mint
Amalfi in a glass. Use ice-cold limoncello straight from the freezer.
How to make it →Silky, tart, 14% ABV
- Build
- 2 oz Aperol · ¾ oz lemon juice · ½ oz simple syrup · 1 egg white (optional)
- Serve
- Coupe, orange peel
Dry-shake first without ice, then shake again with ice for the foam.
How to make it →Mandarin and Prosecco, 8% ABV
- Build
- 2 oz fresh mandarin juice · 4 oz Prosecco
- Serve
- Flute, no ice
Winter's Bellini. Only worth making when mandarins are in season and you squeeze them yourself.
How to make it →Pomegranate and Prosecco, 8% ABV
- Build
- 1½ oz pomegranate juice · 4 oz Prosecco
- Serve
- Flute
The Venetian trio finishes here: Bellini peach, Rossini strawberry, Tintoretto pomegranate.
How to make it →Bittersweet, foamy, 18% ABV
- Build
- 2 oz Amaro Montenegro · ¾ oz lemon juice · ½ oz simple syrup · 1 egg white
- Serve
- Coupe, lemon peel, three drops of bitters on the foam
The best use of a half-finished amaro bottle. Dry shake, then shake with ice.
How to make it →
Wine at the Table
What Larry actually pours with dinner
Sausage and peppers wants a red with acid and grip, not a heavy fruit bomb. Here is the short list.
Tuscan Sangiovese, dry, high acid
- Build
- Pairs with: sausage and peppers, Sunday gravy, grilled steak
- Serve
- 60°F / 16°C, big bowl glass
Acidity cuts sausage fat better than anything else on the table.
How to make it →Piedmont red, soft tannin, bright cherry
- Build
- Pairs with: tomato sauces, salumi, pizza
- Serve
- Slightly cool, 58°F / 14°C
The weeknight red. Forgiving with anything acidic.
How to make it →Sicilian red, ripe and warm
- Build
- Pairs with: grilled sausage, eggplant, aged pecorino
- Serve
- 62°F / 17°C
The one to open when the peppers came off the grill charred.
How to make it →Coastal white, saline and citrus
- Build
- Pairs with: branzino, seafood pasta, fried anything
- Serve
- 48°F / 9°C
Larry's fish wine. Also his “waiting for the grill” wine.
How to make it →Sparkling red, dry
- Build
- Pairs with: prosciutto, mortadella, rich pork
- Serve
- Chilled, 50°F / 10°C
Dry Lambrusco — not the sweet stuff from 1978.
How to make it →Sparkling white, Glera grape
- Build
- Pairs with: aperitivo hour, fried snacks, spritz duty
- Serve
- Ice cold, 42°F / 6°C
Buy the Brut for spritzes. The Extra Dry is sweeter despite the name.
How to make it →
The Cellar
Bottles Larry only opens for company
The special-occasion shelf: benchmark Italian bottles worth decanting, worth waiting on, and worth a story. Larry keeps these behind the everyday reds and pretends he forgot they were there.
The King of Wines
Piedmont Nebbiolo, tannic, tar and roses, ages 20+ years
- Build
- Pairs with: braised beef, truffle risotto, aged Parmigiano
- Serve
- 64°F / 18°C, decant 2 hours, wide Burgundy bowl
Never open a young Barolo on a whim. Ten years is the polite minimum.
How to make it →Nebbiolo again, softer and more perfumed than Barolo
- Build
- Pairs with: roasted duck, mushroom pasta, veal
- Serve
- 62°F / 17°C, decant 1 hour
Barolo's more elegant sibling. Drinks well a few years earlier.
How to make it →100% Sangiovese Grosso, five years aged before release
- Build
- Pairs with: bistecca alla Fiorentina, wild boar ragù
- Serve
- 64°F / 18°C, decant 1–2 hours
If the label says Riserva, give it another hour and another decade.
How to make it →Dried-grape Veneto red, rich, 15–16% ABV
- Build
- Pairs with: braises, aged cheese, or nothing at all
- Serve
- 64°F / 18°C, large glass, small pours
This is dessert with a cork in it. One glass is a full course.
How to make it →Bordeaux varieties grown in Tuscany, polished and structured
- Build
- Pairs with: grilled ribeye, lamb, anything off charcoal
- Serve
- 63°F / 17°C, decant 1 hour
Broke the rules in the '70s and ended up rewriting them.
How to make it →Lombardy metodo classico sparkling, bottle-aged 60+ months
- Build
- Pairs with: oysters, fritto misto, the toast before dinner
- Serve
- 50°F / 10°C, white wine glass, not a flute
Italy's answer to Champagne. Pour it in a real glass or don't bother.
How to make it →Rare Sangiovese dessert wine, amber and nutty
- Build
- Pairs with: cantucci, aged pecorino, the end of the night
- Serve
- 55°F / 13°C, tiny glass, tinier pours
The bottle that comes out when nobody wants to leave yet.
How to make it →
Digestivi
After the plates come off
Sipped neat at room temperature or straight from the freezer, depending on the bottle. This is the course where Larry starts telling the story again.
Herbal bitter, 30–35% ABV
- Build
- 2 oz poured slowly, no rush
- Serve
- Neat in a small glass, or on one cube with orange
Averna is caramel and sweet; Montenegro is floral; Nonino is grappa-based and dry.
How to make it →Aggressively bitter mint, 39% ABV
- Build
- 1½ oz straight
- Serve
- Ice cold shot glass
Tastes like a dare. Genuinely settles a heavy dinner.
How to make it →Lemon liqueur, 28% ABV
- Build
- 2 oz, sipped in three goes
- Serve
- Freezer-cold, tiny frozen glass
Sorrento lemons, grain alcohol, sugar, patience. Never serve it warm.
How to make it →Pairs with
Pomace brandy, 40–45% ABV
- Build
- 1½ oz
- Serve
- Tulip glass, room temperature
A young grappa is fiery; a barrel-aged riserva drinks like brandy.
How to make it →Pairs with
Anise liqueur, 38% ABV
- Build
- 1½ oz sambuca · 3 espresso beans
- Serve
- Shot glass with three coffee beans — the “flies”
Three beans for health, happiness and prosperity. Larry always takes four.
How to make it →Pairs with
Sweet Tuscan dessert wine
- Build
- 3 oz plus almond biscotti for dunking
- Serve
- Small glass, room temperature
The dunk is mandatory. This is the one dessert rule Larry respects.
How to make it →Pairs with
Green walnut liqueur, dark and spiced, 30% ABV
- Build
- Green walnuts picked in June, steeped with sugar, cloves and cinnamon until autumn
- Serve
- Small glass, room temperature, after dessert
Emilia-Romagna's homemade digestivo. Tastes like Christmas cake with a coat on.
How to make it →Myrtle berry liqueur, 32% ABV
- Build
- 2 oz poured very cold
- Serve
- Straight from the freezer, tiny glass
Sardinia's answer to limoncello. Herbal, dark purple, dangerously easy after a big dinner.
How to make it →Espresso 'corrected' with grappa or sambuca
- Build
- 1 espresso · ½ oz grappa, sambuca or Fernet
- Serve
- Demitasse, standing at the bar
Coffee and digestivo in one cup. Standard order at 11 a.m. in northern Italy, and Larry keeps that tradition alive.
How to make it →
Part Two · Non-Alcoholic
Same ritual, same glassware, zero proof.
Caffè
The Italian coffee menu, ordered correctly
In Italy, coffee is a standing event at the bar counter. Order by name, drink it in two sips, pay on the way out.
Un caffè
25–30 ml, thick crema
- Build
- 18 g ground fine · 25 seconds extraction
- Serve
- Warm demitasse, no lid, no name written on it
If you just say “un caffè” in Italy, this is what arrives.
How to make it →Pairs with
Espresso “stained” with milk
- Build
- 1 espresso · 1 spoon of steamed milk foam
- Serve
- Demitasse
All the coffee, a whisper of milk. Acceptable at any hour.
How to make it →Pairs with
Espresso, steamed milk, foam in thirds
- Build
- 1 espresso · 4 oz milk steamed to 140°F
- Serve
- 6 oz cup, before 11 a.m.
Ordering one after dinner is legal but everyone will notice.
How to make it →Milk-forward, mild
- Build
- 1 espresso · 6 oz steamed milk
- Serve
- Tall glass, morning only
Order “latte” in Italy and you get a glass of milk. Say the whole word.
How to make it →Espresso, cocoa and foam
- Build
- Cocoa dust · 1 espresso · milk foam · more cocoa
- Serve
- Small glass tumbler
The Piedmont mid-afternoon repair job.
How to make it →Pairs with
Iced, foamy, no dilution
- Build
- 2 hot espressos · ice · ½ tsp sugar · shake 20 seconds hard
- Serve
- Chilled coupe
The only correct iced coffee in Italy. The foam is the whole point.
How to make it →Frozen coffee ice, Sicilian
- Build
- Sweetened espresso frozen and raked with a fork every 30 minutes
- Serve
- Glass with whipped cream, with a brioche on the side
Breakfast in Catania in August. Not a dessert, a survival tool.
How to make it →Pairs with
Espresso, drinking chocolate and cream, layered
- Build
- 1 oz thick hot chocolate · 1 espresso poured over the back of a spoon · float cold cream
- Serve
- Small glass, never stirred
Turin's 18th-century layered coffee. Drink it through the cream — stirring it is a crime in Piedmont.
How to make it →Pre-chilled sweet espresso
- Build
- Espresso sweetened while hot, then chilled for hours
- Serve
- Small glass straight from the fridge, no ice
Southern Italian bars keep a bottle of it cold all summer. Ice would only water it down.
How to make it →
Analcolici
Zero-proof aperitivi
Nobody in Italy sits out the aperitivo hour. These are the bitter, grown-up options with no alcohol in them.
Bitter orange aperitivo, 0% ABV
- Build
- Pour cold over ice, or top with soda for a longer drink
- Serve
- Wine glass, ice, orange slice
The original alcohol-free aperitivo. Tastes like a Spritz that went to bed early.
How to make it →Sharp red bitter, 0% ABV
- Build
- One 98 ml bottle over ice
- Serve
- Small tumbler, ice, lemon twist
More bitter than Crodino. The move if you actually like Campari.
How to make it →Zero-proof spritz
- Build
- 3 oz Crodino or zero-proof bitter · 3 oz sparkling grape juice · splash soda
- Serve
- Big wine glass, ice, orange slice
Same glass, same ritual, same hour. Nobody can tell across the table.
How to make it →Bitter citrus soda, 0% ABV
- Build
- Serve very cold
- Serve
- Bottle over ice with a lemon wedge
Made from the myrtle-leaved orange. Cola's bitter Italian cousin.
How to make it →Blood orange soda
- Build
- Sicilian blood orange juice, sugar, sparkling water
- Serve
- Tall glass, ice, blood orange wheel
Look for bottles with real juice percentage on the label — 20% and up.
How to make it →Pairs with
Citron soda, floral and sweet
- Build
- Citron essence, sugar, carbonated water
- Serve
- Cold, straight from the bottle
The yellow one from every Italian beach bar since 1950.
How to make it →Lightly sweet lemon soda
- Build
- Lemon, sugar, carbonated water — nothing else
- Serve
- Cold bottle, at the table with dinner
Half the country still cuts red wine with it in summer. Nonno's spritz.
How to make it →Tamarind syrup soda, sweet-sour
- Build
- 1 part tamarind syrup · 5 parts sparkling water
- Serve
- Tall glass, ice, cold sparkling water
Dark, tangy and older than cola in Italy. The pharmacy-counter drink of the 1930s.
How to make it →
Homemade & At the Table
Made in the kitchen, not bought
What is actually on the table during dinner, plus a few things worth making from scratch on a Sunday.
Sparkling water, table standard
- Build
- Sparkling mineral water · lemon
- Serve
- Glass bottle, lemon wedge, no ice in Italy
Every Italian table has both frizzante and naturale. Nobody drinks tap at dinner.
How to make it →Homemade Italian lemonade
- Build
- 1 cup lemon juice · ¾ cup sugar syrup · 4 cups cold water · 1 cup sparkling water
- Serve
- Pitcher with ice and mint
Add the sparkling water last, right before pouring.
How to make it →Almond syrup drink
- Build
- 1 part orzata syrup · 5 parts water
- Serve
- Tall glass, ice, cold water
Sicilian almond milk in soda form. Pair with granita on a hot afternoon.
How to make it →Sicilian almond milk
- Build
- Blanched almonds, water, sugar, steeped overnight and strained
- Serve
- Very cold, tall glass
Real almond milk, not the carton kind. Thick enough to coat the glass.
How to make it →Italian iced tea, lightly sweet
- Build
- Strong black tea · lemon juice · light sugar syrup · chill 2 hours
- Serve
- Pitcher, ice, lemon slices
Less sweet than the American version. Sharper finish.
How to make it →Pairs with
Roasted barley “coffee”, caffeine-free
- Build
- Brewed like espresso from roasted barley
- Serve
- Demitasse, same as espresso
What Italian kids and late-night sippers drink. Nutty and surprisingly good.
How to make it →Fresh-squeezed blood orange juice
- Build
- 4 Sicilian blood oranges squeezed to order · sugar only if asked
- Serve
- Short glass, no ice, drunk standing at the bar
Winter breakfast in Sicily. If the juice is not still foaming, it was not made for you.
How to make it →Frozen lemon ice, drinkable
- Build
- 1 cup lemon juice · 1 cup sugar syrup · 3 cups water · raked every 30 minutes while freezing
- Serve
- Glass with a spoon, brioche col tuppo alongside
Rake it with a fork, never blend it. Blending makes a slushie; raking makes granita.
How to make it →
What to pour with dinner
Every drink here has a plate it belongs next to. Start with the recipes, then come back and pick the glass.
Shop the cellar
The bottles Larry pours with dinner — shipped from Wine.com.
Partner link — Uncle Larry Adventures may earn a commission from Wine.com.
Every episode
Episode index →- 01Red Carpet Ready0:15
- 02Jungle Grill1:00
- 03Mouse House Mayhem1:14
- 04Remote Control1:00
- 05Oscar Performance1:00
- 06Farmhouse Standoff1:00
- 07Poolside Surprise1:00
- 08Mile High Meal1:00
- 09Monkey Business1:00
- 10The Smart Throne0:30
- 11Hot Pepper Party0:30
- 12Scuba with Larry1:00
- 13Alaska with Larry1:00
- 14Rodeo Larry1:00
- 15Car Wash Chaos0:15
- 16Camping with Larry1:00
- 17Hulk Larry1:30
- 18The Spa Day0:45
- 19Gridiron Larry0:30
- 20The Dutch Oven0:15
- 21Larry Fart0:15
- 22Hot Tub Time Machine1:00
- 23The Five Families1:00
- 24Kung Fu Larry1:30
- 25Scareface1:00
- 26Sausage at Sundown1:31
- 27Romeo and Sausage1:30
- 28Trick or Treat, Sausage Style1:04
- 29Porkeies1:30
- 30Sausage Dojo0:45
- 31Pep Rally0:45
- 32Kneaded0:30
- 33The Gauntlet0:29
- 34Namaste for Sausage0:31
- 35Pickleball Problems0:34
- 36Game of Sausages1:04
- 37Squid Games: Last Sausage Standing1:05
- 38Larry Gets Inked0:40
- 39Sally's Hot Summer Beach Day0:40
- 40The Breakfast Club Detention1:36
- 41Return of the Kingpin1:33
- 42Beast Mode1:00
- 43League Night Kingpin1:33
- 44A Sausage to Remember1:00
- 45The Faithful Playbook1:07
- 46Home Alone: The Great Sausage Heist1:38
- 47Table for Two1:04
- 48Betty & Beth1:30
- 49Bella Como1:17
- 50Viva Las Sausage1:00
- 51Leg Day Links0:30
- 52The Last Dab1:08
- 53The Green Jacket Grill1:30
- 54Baywatch Sausage Patrol1:15
- 55Red Pepper or Green Pepper1:35
- 56Sausage on the Runway1:32
- 57The Luck of the Larry1:30
- 58Weekend Unlimited2:00
- 59Viva Larry2:00
- 60The Sausage in the Swamp1:30
- 61Sausage on the Podium1:45
- 62Back to 19551:35
- 63Are You Not Entertained1:31
- 64One Liter Rule1:31
- 65Do Not Touch1:31
- 66The Pepper Awakens2:01
- 67Island Clearance1:30
- 68Beach Report1:30
- 69Sold Out Arena0:30
- 70Nothing to Declare0:30
- 71Golden Hour Grill0:30
- 72High Roller2:16
- 73Hall of Fame0:30
- 74Afterburner1:30
- 75Launch Day2:19
- 76Prime Time2:01
- 77Under the Old Oak2:16
- 78The Coney Island Record1:55
- 79Dust & Whiskey1:26
- 80The Blue Suit Affair1:16
- 81The Briefing0:30
- 82Podium Privileges0:46
- 83Order in the Court0:30
- 84Sideline Access0:38
- 85Napa Knockout1:03
- 86Palms & Consequences3:21
- 87Lane Four1:00
- 88Maiden Voyage1:32
- 89The Golden Vault1:35
- 90The Cabin Nightcap1:28
- 91Ladies' Night1:31
- 92GTA 6: Sausage City0:30