Cocchi Americano Aperitivo

• Type/Colour: Dry
• Alcohol: 16.5%
• Bottle Size: 75cl
• Country: Italy

Giulio Cocchi founded his business in the North Western Italian town of Asti in 1891 when as a young pastry chef he became fascinated with the pairing of food and wine as he looked to expand the range of products on offer in his artisan bakery. Giulio began producing quality aromatic-infused wines and by the turn of the century two in particular - Barolo Chinato and Aperitivo Americano - had become very popular, not only throughout Piedmont but also in the export markets of London, New York, Africa and South America. Giulio Cocchi Spumanti is now owned by the Bava Family, themselves highly renowned wine producers. Today the winery still maintains its artisan character using only traditional techniques to craft the distinctive spirits that have made the Cocchi name synonymous with style and quality. Cocchi's Americano means much more to Asti than a simple wine made with the infusion of herbs and spices. An aperitif par excellence, it is a taste of Asti's gastronomic history going back to the 1900s. Cocchi's is widely regarded as the original Americano, and has been made continuously since 1891 using only natural ingredients. To aromatise the white wine a secret blend of herbs and spices are added to the Muscato base which is then steeped over a period of time. Only produced in small batches, the bottles are laid down for a year before release. In recent years Cocchi Americano has risen to prominence as a more than adequate replacement for the now discontinued Kina Lillet made famous in such cocktails as The Vesper and Corpse Reviver No 2.