2. What is Aperitif?

The aperitif was introduced in 1846, when a French chemist, Joseph Deponent, created a wine-based drink as a mean of delivering malaria-fighting quinine.

The medicine was a bitter brew, so he developed a formula of herbs and spices to mask quinine's sharp flavor, and it worked so well that the recipe has remained well-guarded ever since.

French Foreign Legion soldiers made use of it in mosquito-infested Northern Africa. Joseph's wife was so fond of the drink that she had all her friends try it, and its popularity spread.

Some say that the concept of drinking a small amount of alcohol before a meal dates back to the ancient Egyptians.

Main records, however, show that the aperitif first appeared in 1786 in Turin, Italy, when Antonio Benedetto Carpano invented vermouth in this city.

In later years, vermouth was produced and sold by such well-known companies as Martini, Cinzano, and Gancia.

Aperitifs were already widespread in the 19th century in Italy, where they were being served in fashionable cafes in Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan, Turin, and Naples.

Aperitifs became very popular in Europe in the late 19th century.

By 1900, they were also commonly served in the United States. In Spain and in some countries of Latin America, aperitifs have been a staple of tapas cuisine for centuries.

There is no single alcoholic drink that is always used for an aperitif; fortified wines, liqueurs, and dry champagne are possibly the most common choices.

Sherry, a fortified wine, is a very popular aperitif.

In Greece, ouzo is a popular choice; in France, pastis. In Italy, vermouth or bitters may be served; popular brands of bitters are Campari, Cinzano, Byrrh, and Suze.

In the Eastern Mediterranean, arak (Araq (pronounced [araq]),is a highly alcoholic spirit(50%-63 % Alc. Vol.).

It is a clear, colorless, unsweetened anise-flavoured and is served with mezze (a typical middle eastern meal starts with Mezze). This can be an elaborate spread of forty or fifty hors d'oeuvres, little bits of tasty treats to please the palate.

4.Wines

The term "blush" is generally restricted to wines sold in North America, although it is sometimes used in Australia and by Italian Primitivo wines hoping to cash in on the recently discovered genetic links between Primitivo and Zinfandel. Although "blush" originally referred to a colour (pale pink), it now tends to indicate a relatively sweet pink wine, typically with 2.5% residual sugar; in North America dry pink wines are usually marketed as rosé but sometimes as blush. In Europe almost all pink wines are referred to as rosé regardless of sugar levels, even semi-sweet ones from California.

5. Liqueurs

A triple sec – Triple Sec is a variety of Curaçao, an orange-flavoured liqueur made from the dried peels of bitter oranges from the Caribbean. Triple sec, which is French for Triple Dry, is one-third as sweet as regular Curaçao. It is widely used in mixed drinks and recipes as a sweetening and flavouring agent.

Curacao – Curaçao (pronounced /ˈkjʊərəsaʊ/ in English) is a liqueur flavoured with the dried peel of the laraha citrus fruit, grown on the island of Curaçao. A non-native plant similar to an orange, the laraha developed from the sweet Valencia orange transplanted by Spanish explorers. The nutrient-poor soil and arid climate of Curaçao proved unsuitable to Valencia cultivation, resulting in small bitter fruit on the trees. But the aromatic peel maintained much of the essence of the Valencia varietal, and the trees were eventually bred into the current laraha species, whose fruits remain inedibly bitter.

The drink was first developed and marketed by the Senior family (an old Caribbean family of Spanish Jewish descent) in the 19th century.[1] To create the liqueur the laraha peel is dried, bringing out the sweetly fragranced oils. After soaking in a still with alcohol and water for several days, the peel is removed and other spices are added.

The liqueur has an orange-like flavour with varying degrees of bitterness. It is naturally colourless, but is often given artificial colouring, most commonly blue or orange, which confers an exotic appearance to cocktails and other mixed drinks.

Some other liqueurs are also sold as Curaçaos with different flavours added, such as coffee, chocolate, and rum and raisin.