While there are now countless aperitivo options available to deploy as the bittersweet base of a refreshing spritz, the sunset-hued, low-ABV aperitivo Aperol has become synonymous with the spirit of the spritz (in no small part thanks to strategic marketing campaigns from its parent company Gruppo Campari, which bought the 1919 Padua-born brand in 2003).

But “Campari’s little brother,” as Eloy Pacheco, head bartender at New York’s Caffe Dante, lovingly calls the less bitter sibling a bartender favorite beyond its namesake spritz, becoming integral to drinks like Joaquín Simó’s Naked and Famous and Sam Ross’ Paper Plane, among others. “It’s so well balanced,” says Dan Zeiders, beverage director for Lancaster County’s TFB Hospitality. “That candied orange sweetness and subtle floral notes make it a well-rounded go-to for a classic spritz as well as a constant in cocktails.”

California’s acclaimed St. George Spirits entered the domestic bitters market in 2016 with their bracingly bitter Bruto Americano, made with botanicals inspired by the sensation of walking a forest floor among the California Redwoods. It holds up in a shakerato and is especially versatile in stirred drinks alongside aged spirits like whiskey or rum (it’s fantastic in a Boulevardier). “It’s much more herbal and has less citrus than most red bitters,” says Renato Tonelli, beverage training director for Dante. “Its earthy, woody complexity and intriguing bitterness gives you the space to create more new and original cocktails.” Zeiders notes that Bruto Americano’s “pop of piney bittersweetness” and notes of rosemary, juniper, cedar, cinnamon and bitter orange provide plenty of inspiration for wintertime cocktail creations.

With its sharp herbal profile accented by bright notes of citrus (particularly grapefruit and orange) and its distinctive bitter backbone, Campari can be a decidedly divisive experience. But there’s no question that Gaspare Campari’s namesake bitter liqueur, created in 1860 in Novara, Italy, has stood the test of time and remains an essential ingredient in iconic cocktails like the Negroni, Americano, Sbagliato, Boulevardier, Old Pal and Garibaldi, among others. In a world of countless Negroni variations, many bartenders believe there’s nothing that can truly replace Campari. “Campari is the king. It sits at the head of the table,” says The Long Island Bar co-owner Toby Cecchini. “Whether you like it or not, Campari is the ur-bitter. It’s literally in a class by itself.”

While Campari’s closely guarded recipe is said to have remained unchanged, one major update came in 2007, when the source of its signature hue switched from an all-natural carmine to a synthetic red dye to make their global product vegetarian friendly.

This trebbiano wine-based, garnet-colored aperitivo is produced at a family-owned distillery located in Trentino-Alto Adige in Northern Italy on the edge of the Dolomites that dates back more than four generations. The bartender-favorite is flavored with gentian and locally sourced alpine herbs and spices, and presents a lighter, less bitter alternative to Campari that is at home in a Negroni Sbagliato, where the wine-on-wine element, when combined with prosecco, makes for an especially sessionable experience.

Cecchini is among its biggest fans. “It’s the only thing that can stand up to Campari—not exactly toe-to-toe because it’s so different and because it’s wine based,” he says. “More importantly, it has a completely different profile with this super soft, cacao-chocolate appeal, yet it’s not terribly sweet.”

Recently, the brand has expanded their portfolio with Aperitivo Mazzura, a red bitter that’s also wine-based, but boasts an increased presence of bitter botanicals, giving it a more distinctive presence than their softer aperitivo in spirit-forward applications like a Negroni.

This relatively new release from Carpano, the historic 18th century Italian producer that dates back to 1786, arrived in 2021. Carpano Botanic Bitter sets itself apart with its distinctive bright bixbite color as well as its notably dry profile. The bottling contains half the sugar of most commercial red bitters and possesses a lingering bitterness from a blend of cinchona, gentian and wormwood, flavored with rhubarb root, sandalwood, saffron, and dried bitter and sweet oranges, among other herbs and spices. “Carpano Botanic Bitter is a great option for introducing guests to a Negroni,” says Zeiders, who stirs it up in his Summer Solstice Negroni, made with Carpano’s own rosso vermouth and Roku, a citrus-forward Japanese gin. “It’s soft, not too sweet, and botanical-driven with a toasted almond-like bitterness.”

The first of the big three Brooklyn-based amaro producers in this roundup, Faccia Brutto Spirits—founded by Patrick Miller, the former executive chef at Rucola—launched on the eve of lockdown in March 2020. A flagship of the Faccia Brutto portfolio is their Aperitivo, an all-natural blend of 17 organic botanicals (including gentian, fresh orange peel, rhubarb root and hibiscus), that can comfortably hang in sessionable spritzes and Americanos and stand up to an on-the-rocks Negroni. “Faccia Brutto makes a lot of great expressions in the amaro world, but their Aperitivo has to be one of the most pleasant bitter spirits around,” says Zeiders. “There’s a well-integrated and soft bitterness from kola nut, gentian, and grapefruit pith that works very well in aperitivo classics as well as citrus-forward cocktails.”

Also located in Brooklyn is Forthave Spirits, founded in 2016 by Aaron Sing Fox and Daniel de la Nuez, who turned their mutual obsession with botanical-driven spirits and liqueurs into an acclaimed business with a loyal and savvy fanbase. Forthave’s Bed-Stuy “lab” is filled with a deep collection of vintage amari and liqueurs, a research library, jars of obscure aromatic herbs, barks and spices, and barrels filled with secret projects. One of their initial releases was an aperitivo they dubbed “Red,” a well-balanced, bitter that leans toward the dry side, made with 13 organic botanicals, including citrus peels, chamomile, rosebuds and rose hips. Forthave Red’s garnet color is achieved naturally and, true to its organic profile, will slowly fade to a rusty hue over time without diminishing its distinctive flavor of citrus and spice. Try it on the rocks with soda or a Garibaldi variation with fresh grapefruit juice.

A bitter bianco formula had been in the Luxardo archives since the early 1900s, but due to the destruction of their distillery in World War II there were no recipes, bottles or samples to turn to when the brand wanted to reintroduce it to their portfolio. In 2017, using the same botanicals as their classic Luxardo Bitter (rhubarb, cardamom, mint, marjoram, thyme and bitter orange), they released Luxardo Bitter Bianco, a nearly transparent liqueur enhanced with wormwood to amp up the level of bitterness. It now rivals the French-born Suze or Avèze for a truly Italian-inspired Negroni Bianco, and is a turn-to bottle when you want to add a bright and rich element of bitter but not the distinctive red color to a cocktail.

At LUCA, a modern Italian restaurant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, it’s an oft-reached for bottle of bar manager Isaiah Kimball. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a more ubiquitous, almost perfectly clear and tasty bitter bianco,” he says. “With floral notes and a solidly bitter profile, it’ll make the Negroni Bianco of your dreams.”

Inspired by an 1872 recipe from their historical archives, Martini & Rossi released an updated, modern take on a refined red bitter liqueur in 2017, built around three key botanicals—saffron, angostura and calumba. The blend is rested in oak casks used in their vermouth production, enhancing the red bitter with additional notes of wormwood. “Its pungent citrus and pronounced herbal notes are quite aromatic,” says Tonelli. “It has a lot more body and texture than most other red bitters, which really sets it apart.” He also notes its richer texture works well in Negroni variations and stirred, spirit-forward cocktails.

Located in Piazza Castello in Turin, the historic Caffè Mulassano is one of the city’s oldest, and grandest, cafés. It’s where Italy’s beloved tramezzini sandwiches were first invented in 1925 and where Bordiga has been making and supplying Caffè Mulassano with a red bitter since 1879 that’s used in their house spritz. While that Liquore delle Alpi is exclusive to Caffè Mulassano, their Mulassano Bitter Liquore Aperitivo Amaro (made with gentian, cassia, angelica, juniper, and Sicilian orange peel) is now more widely available beyond Italy. “Mulassano is very soft, and isn’t sharp like Campari,” says Cecchini, who notes it can lead to very different interpretations of familiar Campari drinks like the Boulevardier.

Known worldwide for their range of acclaimed grappas, Distilleria Nardini is the oldest distillery in Italy, founded in 1779 on the banks of the Ponte Vecchio in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It also produces a number of exceptional liqueurs, including an amaro and Nardini Bitter Aperitivo Liqueur.

While it tends to get lost in the crowd among so many new red bitters, the Nardini name is always worth seeking out. “When a distillery as old and prestigious as Nardini comes out with a product, they come out swinging,” says LUCA’s Kimball. “Their Nardini Bitter is about as well-rounded as you can ask for—and a very fun way to shake things up in a drink.” After visiting Distilleria Nardini in Bassano del Grappa, I’ve been obsessed with Nardini Bitter in the Mezzo-Mezzo, the signature Americano-like aperitivo you’ll likely only encounter at Grapperia Nardini on the Ponte Vecchio. It’s simply one-part Nardini Bitter Aperitivo and one-part Nardini Rabarbaro Aperitivo served in a small tumbler and topped with a burst of ice-cold seltzer shot from a siphon.

Brooklyn’s first contemporary amaro landed in the spring of 2014 when Nicholas Finger and Fairlie McCollough launched St. Agrestis. Three years later, first-generation Italian American brothers Louie and Matt Catizone and their partner Steven DeAngelo purchased St. Agrestis and have continued the success of the original signature amaro (with some updates and modifications) along with an ever-expanding portfolio of aperitivi, bottled cocktails and the non-alcoholic sensation, the Phony Negroni. It was the success of their bottled Negroni that led to eventually releasing the red bitter used to make it in 2019. Known as St. Agrestis Inferno Bitter, the all-natural blend’s distinctive bittersweet taste (which has a familiar Campari-like bite) and aromatic floral and citrus notes have made it a favorite for countless house spritzes at bars around New York City and beyond.

Though it’s now owned and produced by Gruppo Montenegro in Bologna, Select Aperitivo was born in Venice in 1920 and remains the bright red heart of Venetian aperitivo hour, where the single olive-speared Spritz Veneziano made with Select is what you see on cafe table tops across the city. Select became available in the U.S. in 2016 and has become a rival option stateside among its Italian aperitivo brethren.

“Select is perfectly bittersweet, not leaning too far to either side, with notes of strawberry and raspberry,” says Dante’s Tonelli. LUCA bar manager Kimball is also enamored with the red fruit and rhubarb spice profile of Select. “It’s sweet but not too sweet and seriously bitter without being as dry as Campari,” he says. Whether to use it in a shakerato, Negroni, or spritz? “It’s a wild card toss-up. It’ll perform in all the classic aperitivo drinks.”

One of the newest standout aperitivo imports from Italy is Stellare Primo by Antica Torino, the Piedmont-based producer of aromatized wine, vermouth and amari. With its mod label and vibrant carmine red color, Stellare Primo’s low-ABV blend is composed of a base of fortified Italian white wine flavored with gentian, rhubarb, wormwood, germander, grapefruit and bitter orange.

LUCA’s Kimball has been an early advocate of Stellare, often dropping the colorful and retro, space-age label-adorned bottle alongside a welcome drink for guests at his bar. “If you don’t smile while looking at the Stellare Primo bottle, then I don’t know what’s wrong with you,” says Kimball. “This is truly a joyous and extremely fun vino-based bitter.” In New York, Tonelli calls out Stellare’s bright notes of citrus and strawberry. “It’s so juicy and tangy and its wine-like flavors are perfect paired with carbonated ingredients like soda and prosecco,” he says. “It’s also terrific in a shakerato with a few dashes of bitters.”

And now Stellare Primo is joined by the superb Stellare Secondo, a floral wine-based bitter bianco aromatized with angelica, verbena, coriander, anise, elderflower, orange and wormwood.

This medium-bodied, fruit-forward aperitivo was created by Alfons Walcher, whose family farm and artisanal distillery in South Tyrol, located near the foot of the Dolomites in Northeast Italy, has been around since 1966. Despite this all-natural aperitivo’s 15 percent ABV, it bridges the gap between a lighter, sweeter aperitivo and complex red bitter, with botanicals including elderberry, rhubarb, gentian and wormwood. And as its name implies, it’s a natural go-to for your everyday spritz or simply served on the rocks with soda and a thick grapefruit zest. “I love that it’s organic and gets its natural coloring from annatto along with its strawberry-like sweetness and elements of mountain herbs, ripe summer berries and a subtle gentian bitterness,” says Zeiders.