Happy Hour Transformed

Last week's Manhattan Cocktail Classic brought on a revolution of cocktail trends, consumers, and curiosities. The five-day event began Friday the 13th with a "salty-black tie" Gala at the New York Public Library and continued on with seminars, tutorials, and tastings held by renowned restaurateurs and mixologists. Over 5,000 guests attended the Gala: professionals and enthusiasts alike to stir, shake, sip and savor. An estimated 25,000 cocktails were hand made and served at the event, which created a close-to-impossible task of trying them all(which isn't to say I didn't try my hardest.)

One trend I discovered was the resurgence of the aperitif and the allusive "Apertivo Hour." I focused my Manhattan Cocktail Classic adventures on the two and have found that they may not be that allusive or underground as I had once thought.

Campari was serving the Negroni by Tony Abou-Ghanim, the Master Mixologist himself. He served it on the rocks: equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. It was stirred, not shaken and finished with an orange twist a flambe. The beverage has a bittersweet, herbaceous character that somehow satisfies your thirst but encourages it as well. The perplexity of flavors caused by Campari's secret recipe with over sixty unknown ingredients, impossible to identify all individually.

Joe Campanale, Beverage Director of Dell' Anima, Anfora and L'Artusi, introduced me to the "Aperitivo Hour," where the Negroni is commonly served. Compared to the American Happy Hour, the Aperitivo Hour is, according to Joe, "a little bit more refined and a little bit more stylish." Don't feel criticized; Joe loves burgers, beers and wings as well, but just believes they have their time and place. For a more ritualistic post-work libation, he prefers the Old-World tradition of Aperitivo Hour: light fare, ranging from olives and chips onto high-end selections of shellfish, sushi, whole-wheel cheeses cut to order and house cured meats paired with light aperitif-based cocktails like the Negroni or an Aperol Spritz. Some nights when he returns home from one, or all three, of his incredible Manhattan restaurants, he looks to the aperitif again. "Just one more drink is what you need sometimes, nothing heavy. I get home from work and don't want any more wine, can't have any more wine! I make myself a light, easy drink, lots of ice and Campari. It's not too heavy; you're not drinking whisky. It's a simple, refreshing, nice, easy way to sit back and relax."

The aperitif is meant to "open" one's appetite and encourage time to relax and reflect prior to that evening's meal. Many New York restaurants have embraced the resurgence of the aperitif. Joe's own Anfora hosts a greenmarket-inspired Aperitivo Hour every Monday from 5-7 p.m. The Lincoln has a menu dedicated to the Negroni alone with a vast selection of gins and vermouths to construct one's perfect pre-dinner drink. Northern Spy of the East Village just launched an aperitif-based cocktail menu, while Aroma Kitchen & Wine bar and Centro Vinoteca have a more traditional Aperitivo Hour with a daily menu including a number of small plates, cheeses and wines.

The Manhattan Cocktail Classic has launched new liquors, trends and tastes, but also reintroduced us to age-old classics on which the hospitality business was built. The aperitif, long overlooked, has grabbed hold of New York's restaurant scene and is reemerging as the spirit with style, class and refinement.

— Written by Sarah Phillips-Loth

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