Quinquinas and Americanos

Next is a classification of aromatized wine that isn't really referred to anymore, despite there being several very popular products that fall under its umbrella. Like vermouth, these classifications have blurred, in part due to the limited availability of some of the ingredients used in production, but also likely because people's tastes have changed so much and spirit and wine companies have shifted with that trend.

As mentioned in my post on vermouth, its original ingredients included wormwood, and a separate group of aromatized wines included primarily quinine and were appropriately named "quinquina" (keen-KEEN-ah). Quinine has a decorated history in early medicine dating back to the mid 17th century when Italians used it to cure malaria. Its source is Peruvian bark, Chinchona bark, or "Jesuit's Bark," which was used by indiginous South American people as a medicine. Italians there at the time noticed this and brought it back home where it became common use throughout most of Europe, especially amongst sailors who drank it simply with water. Adding a ration of gin made it more interesting, and a little lime made it more palatable (and also warded off scurvy), and thus is the birth of what we now call the Gin & Tonic. Medicinal tonics, as always, lead to popular social and recreational libations, and the French in particular enjoyed steeping their wines in it along with other herbs. All but one of the well-known quinquinas are French, with Cocchi Americano being Italian (of course it's essentially Kina Lillet, which is French).

"Americano" is actually another classification of these wines ("amer" as in bitter, not America) with a stronger focus on gentian root, and often contained wormwood as well. Americanos and quinquinas are usually grouped together, and I actually can't seem to find any particular product that is clearly defined as just americano. I assume Cocchi Americano is one, but only because of the name, because the flavour does include quinine and it can therefore be considered a quinquina as well.

Chinchona bark, as it is most often called today, is impossible to find in Canada as far as I've found. In a somewhat recent attempt to make my own bitters, I went from herb shop to herb supplier and so forth and none of them carried, none of them knew anyone who carried it, and a handful of them had no idea what I was talking about. So I ended up buying a bag of it for $2.00 at Pike Place Market in Seattle. That's a pretty typical end to most Vancouver stories.

Here are the only brands of quinquina (and americano?) that are available in the U.S. market:

Bonal Gentiane Quina - From St. Laurent du Pont in 1865, featuring quinine and gentian root.

Byrrh - from Thuir in 1866, one of the few fortified and aromatized wines to begin with a red wine base.

Cocchi Americano - originally created in Asti, Italy, in 1891. This is the closest taste you will find to original Lillet (Kina Lillet) since the recipe was changed in 1986.

Dubonnet - from Paris in 1846. The "rouge" is the classic recipe (or so we think), and the "blanc" is a newer American-market invention. After the the 1940's, the Dubonnet available in the American market has actually been made under license in Kentucky, which of course has led to debates on the validity of the product.

Lillet - from the Bordeaux region in 1887. As I mentioned in earlier posts, Lillet isn't really a quinquina anymore since it barely contains quinine - if any - so essentially serves as its own product and classification under the broad umbrella of fortified wines. It is essentially a dessert wine, being a blend of Bordeaux wines fortified with a little orange liqueur, so the proof and sugar contents are higher, but otherwise tastes much more like a wine than a vermouth or anything else. In 1986 the producers removed all or almost all of the quinine as well as the "Kina" in the title. The rouge version has been around since the 1960's, but only recently became more readily available, and a rose should be hitting the market soon. Any classic cocktail calling for "Lillet" should be made with Cocchi Americano as this is the most accurate representation of the flavours intended.

In Canada, you can easily get Dubonnet and Lillet at any decent liquor store, and you can find it for less than the states (yay us!). However, Bonal, Byrrh, and Cocchi are not available at all, and will require a trip down south (and the Cocchi is worth it).

Darker quinquinas (such as Dubonnet or Bonal) can serve in place of sweet vermouth in a cocktail, but balancing issues will arise so make sure you taste what you're doing! Similarly, Lillet and Cocchi can replace dry vermouth, but Lillet in particular is so light and sweet in comparison that you will not get the same results. With great products like Dolin unavailable to us up here, we are stuck with heavier-tasting vermouths that are more present in a cocktail than you would sometimes like, and an interesting idea might be adding equal parts of Lillet and vermouth instead. I just came up with that right now and have to go try it...

Check out the previous post on fortified wine classification
and this post on vermouth

20th Century Italy Part 2 - The Negroni

First came the Americano, but it just wasn't stiff enough for some, so next came the Negroni.

The Cocktail

The Negoni was supposedly invented in Florence, Italy, in 1919 at Caffe Casoni when Count Camillo Negroni asked the bartender, Fosco Scarselli, for a stronger version of his favourite cocktail, The Americano, by adding gin instead of soda water. So, Scarselli made the switch and added an orange garnish rather than the usual lemon to soften the new mixture. The drink became popular and the Negroni family actually started producing a pre-mixed version called "Antico Negroni 1919," which is still made but with a different recipe.

The drink became popular outside of Italy when Orson Welles, while working in Rome on his 1947 film, "Cagliostro," spoke to reporters about his new favourite drink, saying "the bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other."

The Negroni is considered one of the greatest classic cocktails, and like the others on that list, it's extremely simple in its ingredients and perfectly balanced (if made right).

There are many ways to enjoy it, but I don't agree with adding juice so as to hide the flavours. I think this is yet another compensation for people not developing the bitter palate and adding more and more sugar and fruit. Too much sugar ruins cocktails, and one as complex and interesting as the Negroni should have nothing of the sort added! There are also numerous bartenders of great skill and reputation that substitute Aperol for Campari, or use some of each in varying proportions, which leads to a more palatable and less bitter drink. While often delicious, and something I often experiment with at home, this is not a Negroni and should not be named as such.

The two classic ways to enjoy it are:

a) The Italian way, which is to serve the drink in a short glass over ice so the drink stays cold and the flavours develop,

b) The American way, which is to serve the drink straight-up in a cocktail glass. This makes a much more stiff and bitter drink and is still fantastic, but it is an Italian drink and the Italians do swear by their recipe... so I'll stick with them for now.

The Recipe

1 part Gin (each kind will change the drink dramatically - see my Beginner's Guide To Gin for some ideas)

1 part Italian vermouth (Cinzano Rosso would be fitting, Carpano Antica would be very fancy, Punt e Mes works wonderfully but makes a more bitter cocktail, but really any kind will do - experiment! Also see my previous post on the Americano)

1 part Campari (see my previous post on the Americano)

Either,


a) build in an old-fashioned glass over ice and stir, or


b) add all ingredients with ice, and stir for 30-60 seconds to taste, then strain into a cocktail glass.

Garnish with orange zest, or lemon will do nicely as well, depending on your taste. Orange oil is much sweeter and will soften drinks, while lemon is more aromatic and excellent for balancing stronger flavours and smells.


The History

1940's Italy was a very different time than the early 20th century when the Americano was gaining popularity. The 1940's were really the start of an artistic renaissance for Italy after leaving the clutches of Nazi Germany and Moussolini's fascist regime and allowed to both experience foreign art to a full extent and explore new ideas freely. A renaissance of film-making was occurring in the 1940's with a new generation of directors who started a new movement called Neo-realism, whereas almost no film at all was produced over the previous 20 years. The music scene in Italy was very interesting because during the fascist era throughout the 20's and 30's, there was a lot of censorship of both foreign art, but also of Italian art if it was deemed "insufficiently Italian." Certain composers were even kicked out of music schools or attacked on the street if they didn't include fascist songs into performances and compositions. Opera, which had been Italy's musical identity for almost 200 years, continued to have an influence on new popular music. Folk, classical, and jazz were incorporating operatic ideas and melodies, and big bands were even playing opera pieces. Jazz (from America) had already infiltrated Italy and most of Europe in the 1910's via James Reese Europe (a very important yet often unknown name in the history of jazz), and again in the 1930's when Louis Armstrong was allowed to tour.

A particularly popular swing/pop group named Trio Lescano (sort of the Italian response to the Andrews Sisters) was extremely successful in Italy in the 1930's until the late 1940's. Interestingly, they were actually sisters but were Dutch, not Italian, and changed their names to suit the Italian swing they were singing. They became so popular that even Mussolini recognized them on the street, and in 1941 were offered Italian citizenship. Sad were the times, however, and because of their mother's Jewish origins their radio shows were cancelled, they were stripped of their citizenship, arrested, and imprisoned on the grounds that their songs contained hidden messages for Italy's enemies. After the war, they performed one last time on radio in 1945, then disappeared to South America.

Enjoy your Negroni, perhaps the Italian way, while listening to one of the most popular European pop groups of the 1930's and 40's: Trio Lescano.

20th Century Italy Part 1 - The Americano

Today's cocktail is coming to you from Italy. It's an old one that gained popularity later on with American tourists and was renamed to honour this. It contains only three ingredients, one being soda water, and the other two being classic Italian drinks - sweet vermouth and an amaro. Further evolution of this drink led to the addition of gin, a variation named The Negroni, which is the next cocktail we will be visiting.

But for now, here is a very old Italian cocktail enjoyed in its peak of popularity around 1910 - The Americano.

The Cocktail

In 1860, Italian Gaspare Campari invented a recipe for an amaro (aptly named Campari) that quickly became very popular all over Italy. Soon after, he married, settled down, and opened a cafe called... well... Caffe Campari. There he invented the signature cocktail of his aperitivo, and called it the "Milano-Torino." Milano because that's where Campari was made at the time, and Torino because that's where Cinzano sweet vermouth was made at the time. In the early 1900's, there was an influx of American tourists into Italy, and many of them fell in love with this drink (of course increasing the sales of both the Milano-Torino and Campari), and in honour of this the cocktail was later renamed the "Americano."

(Interesting sidenote: the first drink ordered by James Bond in the very first 007 novel - "Casino Royale" - is an Americano).


The recipe is simple, and the ingredients are easy to find.

Combine:
1 part Campari
1 part sweet vermouth (Cinzano Rosso to be traditional)
in an old-fashioned glass over ice,
top with soda, or simply add a dash - depending on your taste -
and garnish with an orange slice, orange peel, or lemon peel, or all of the above.

The flavour of campari is unique, but very bitter. If you really hate bitter flavours or herbal flavours, you won't like this drink, however, the bitterness is muted by the sweetness of the vermouth, as well as by the acidity of the soda, and the dilution of both the soda and ice. It's a great drink with which to develop your bitter palate so you can better enjoy amari and their respective cocktails. The Americano is a refreshing afternoon-sipper, or pre-dinner aperitivo, whereas the Negroni is stronger, and typically served up (which I will discuss in its own post).

The Ingredients
Sweet, rosso, red, or Italian vermouth (all the same thing, just different names) is a fortified wine (meaning that an alcohol of some kind is added to the wine during or after fermentation, resulting in a higher alcohol content and usually a higher sugar content) that has been flavoured or infused with various herbs, roots, barks, and spices. There are two general kinds of vermouth - French (or dry or white/blanc) and Italian. The former is lighter in taste, colour, and is less sweet (or more "dry"), and the latter has a darker colour and taste, and is much sweeter. Vermouths have a slightly spicy, very herbal and wine-like taste, and require a particular palate to enjoy alone. It is key to always have fresh vermouth, as it is a wine and must be refrigerated and only kept for a month at the most, and it also key to choose a decent brand (I personally despise Martini & Rossi, but love Dolin, Vya, and Carpano Antica). Most people who say "I don't like vermouth" (and I was one of them for a long time) are either drinking vermouth that has gone bad, or just drinking a bad vermouth. Have a sip from a fresh bottle of Antica and you'll see what I mean.

One or both dry and sweet are essential in your home bar, as they're key ingredients in hundreds of cocktails, and the nice thing is that they're easy to find and they're cheap. There are some great ones that are very hard to find, if you can find them at all in Canada, like the aforementioned Dolin or Vya or Carpano Antica, but Cinzano Rosso gets the job done, and will cost you just $13 for a 1L bottle. I don't recommend Martini & Rossi, but you can get small bottles for $8, and there are some reputable bartenders and cocktail bloggers who often use it.

Again - ALWAYS refrigerate your vermouth, and you'll need to get rid of it after a month or two because it will go bad. (You can see my little rant on vermouth here).

Campari is an amaro, or an Italian bitter liqueur, though it's often not listed as one. It's made from a secret recipe of at least 60 different herbs, spices, and wood barks that are added to alcohol, water, and sugar. The distinctive red colour comes from carmine dye, which originally came from crushed cochineal insects. It became wildly popular shortly after its invention in the 1860's, and continues on today as a popular aperitivo, cocktail ingredient, and has been named one of the top twenty liqueurs in the world. As mentioned, the flavour is very unique and very bitter, with hints of spice, strong herbal character, with a definite bitter orange taste. It's fun to mix in cocktails, but it's also delicious just with a bit of soda water or orange juice. You can find it in the government liquor store for $27 for a 750mL bottle, which is actually cheaper than in Washington (yay!).


The History
Italy in the early 1900's was somewhat of a mess. It was only in 1861 that the separate states were unified, and only in 1871 that Rome was made the capital. There was minimal support for any kind of government, as the Pope told the populace not to vote due to all the land the church lost during unification. There were few natural resources, large debt, and almost no transportation or industries. Poverty, illiteracy, and taxes were high. The country was fairly split between north and south in terms of most everything; the north was becoming industrialized and wealthy, while the south remained poor and underdeveloped, which lead to a lot of crime and brutal government retaliation. It was definitely a terrible time. Leading up to World War I, some progress was made, but then unfortunately military and political affairs were mishandled, in part leading to the death of about 600,000 Italians during the war.

There were a lot of American tourists visiting northern Italy during these tumultuous times, coming to calmer, developing northern cities like Turin, Milan, and Rome. In art, futurism was blossoming, and the popularity of opera continued its reign from the 19th century. Verdi and Puccini were icons, with pieces such as "Madama Butterfly" and "Tosca" by the latter composer premiering in the early 1900's. Throughout the 1910's, foreign music (particularly early American jazz) was making its way into Italy and influencing new generations of musicians, but in the 1920's the fascist government put a ban on all foreign art, prompting many an artist to leave the country.

For the music today, I'm going with Puccini. Verdi is arguably the more interesting composer and more important name in Italian and classical music history, but he died in 1901, so Puccini is better suited to the time-frame of the Americano's hey-day.
Sip your Americano, imagine yourself sitting at a cafe on the streets of Milan in the early 1900's, and enjoy this excerpt from "La Boheme" by a great Italian composer, Giacomo Puccini, as sung in 1906 by one of the most famous Italian opera singers of all time, Enrico Caruso.

Enrico Caruso - La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini

See you soon for The Negroni (click here)...