6 Best Italian Cocktails That Aren't a Negroni

Italy has had a tremendous influence on classic cocktails because of its spirituous contributions such as vermouth and amaro, as well as many time-honored liqueurs like Amaretto, Maraschino, and Sambuca, to name just a few. (Arguably, the ever-popular Espresso Martini, while formulated in London, also can’t exist without the Italian coffee diaspora.) While the Negroni—a combination of vermouth, Campari and gin— might be the first Italian cocktail to come to mind, there are many others worthy of your attention.

Italian Cocktail Culture

“Italy has all these ingredients that cocktail lovers have been using for years and years and years,” says Paul Feinstein, author of recently-released Italy Cocktails: An Elegant Collection of Over 100 Recipes Inspired by Italia. Italian drinking culture itself, however, didn’t really emphasize cocktails until very recently. “They really treated drinking as a mechanism to either get you hungry or settle your stomach,” says Feinstein, with various amari, vermouths, and liqueurs typically drunk by themselves as aperitifs and digestives.

Despite Italy’s importance to cocktail culture in general, and while Italy’s own cocktail culture took off later than in other places, certain Italian cocktails such as the Negroni, Aperol Spritz, Bellini, and Garibaldi have nonetheless had major staying power as classics. “I think their simplicity is what makes them endure,” says Feinstein. Consider the Negroni: “The alchemy of three different ingredients is wonderful,” he says, all of which are complex components individually, but which come together as easily as cocktails can. “The Negroni is just Campari, gin, and sweet vermouth in equal parts,” he says. “You don’t really even need equipment.”

True then to the title here, this is about Italian cocktails you maybe should know, not the iconic Italian cocktails you definitely already know. With recipes and context from Feinstein’s book, here are additional Italian cocktails to consider adding to your repertoire.

Milano-Torino

The Americano exists as a Negroni variation with sparkling water in place of gin. The Negroni Sbagliato replaces the gin with prosecco. Both of those managed to achieve near-icon status alongside the Negroni, but the Milano-Torino is the third in the Negroni variation trifecta, which leaves out the gin and doesn’t replace it: a simple potion of Campari and sweet vermouth. “I’ll tell you why it’s not more popular,” says Feinstein, “because you’d have to drink seven of them to get drunk.” In the rising popularity of lower-ABV drinks, however, the Milano-Torino is a perfect option for Negroni drinkers who want to take it down a notch without adding carbonation.

Milano-Torino Recipe:

1 ½ oz Campari

1 ½ oz 1757 Vermouth di Torino

Fill a rocks glass with ice.

Add Campari and vermouth to a mixing glass with ice and stir.

Strain the cocktail into a rocks glass.

Garnish with an orange slice.

Godfather

The Godfather is not necessarily an Italian cocktail, but it’s not not an Italian cocktail, according to Feinstein. Its roots are unknown, but its popularity soared during the early 1970s with the release of the now-iconic film of the same name. A nutty scotch cocktail with the same basic ratio as a Rusty Nail, it’s a go-to for Amaretto lovers who’ve ever felt shame by ordering an Amaretto sour. An Irish whiskey with a soft whiff of smoke is perfect to give this simple drink Vito Corleone vibes.

Godfather Recipe:

1 ½ oz Busker Blended Irish Whiskey

¾ oz Disaronno Originale'

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice.

Strain the cocktail into a rocks glass over ice.

Garnish with an orange twist.

Il Cardinale

“Il Cardinale is perfect for someone who might otherwise like a Negroni, but who doesn’t like sweet flavors,” says Feinstein. A lighter, lifted, and brighter red version of a Negroni, the sweet vermouth gets replaced by dry vermouth, which also lets the bitter notes of the Campari sing a little louder. While any given bartender might not know it by name, it’s also just as easy to ask for it as a Negroni with dry vermouth subbed for sweet. The recipe in “Italy Cocktails” adjusts the equal parts ratio in favor of the gin and vermouth, letting Campari take a little backseat here.

Il Cardinale Recipe:

1 oz gin

¾ oz Cinzano extra dry vermouth

½ oz Campari

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice.

Strain the cocktail into a rocks glass over ice.

Garnish with a lemon twist.

Hugo

If you don’t already know the Hugo, you will soon. It had a little bump in popularity in 2023, with some calling it as the drink of summer (a way classier option than 2022’s unfortunate Dirty Shirley phenomenon.) Developed in northern Italy’s Tyrol region, where elderflower is commonly used as a beverage flavor, the sparkling elderflower liqueur-based drink became extremely popular in Eastern Europe, before popping up on TikTok, which then helped it rise to worldwide prominence.

Hugo Recipe:

1 oz Elderflower liqueur

3 oz Prosecco

2 oz seltzer

Fill a wine glass with ice, add all the ingredients, and lightly stir.

Garnish with a large sprig of mint, gently compressing the leaves to release the oil.

Stazione Tonic

Feinstein makes a point that a lot of the Italian ingredients we know best are because of brand-based marketing efforts. For example, the Aperol Spritz craze took off in the US in part when Campari bought Aperol and put the strength of its marketing dollars behind it. The most popular amaro, Montenegro, isn’t only popular because of its approachable nature, but because it has professional PR working in its favor. Feinstein and I agree: Strega is a unique Italian liqueur, (devoid of a marketing budget) that deserves more attention than it has previously received. “Strega is so interesting, because it exists in a category of its own,” says Feinstein. “It doesn’t belong with amaro or anything else, but it has a great color and cool flavor.” A vibrant yellow, light-bodied and lightly sweet liqueur with elements of mint, juniper, anise, and fennel, the Stazione Tonic incorporates both gin and tonic water for a G&T with a dolce vita outook.

Stazione Tonic Recipe:

1 oz Liquore Strega

1 oz gin

4 oz tonic water

Fill a tumbler with ice cubes.

Add the Liquore Strega and gin, and then slowly add the tonic water to save its effervescence.

Garnish with a lime wedge.

Caffé Coretto

All the Caffé Coretto really needs is a sultry British actress declaring, “Caffé. Coretto. With amaro in it…” While the Negroni Spagliato refers to a drink that is “broken” by its substitution of sparkling wine for gin, instead the Caffé Coretto imagines that espresso could be “corrected” with the inclusion of spirit. While grappa and Sambuca are classic options for a Coretto, Feinstein offers a version with spicy, herbal Cynar for more serious correction.

Read more about Cynar and why bartenders love it.

Caffé Coretto Recipe:

2 oz Cynar

2 oz Espresso

Combine the Cynar and espresso and stir. Serve warm or cold.