Cocchi

Cocchi is one of those gloriously Italian drinks producers that seems completely incapable of making anything boring. Founded in Asti in 1891 by Giulio Cocchi, the house built its reputation around aromatised wines, vermouths and aperitifs that somehow balance elegance, bitterness and outright deliciousness with almost suspicious ease.

The most famous bottle is probably Cocchi Americano, the beautifully citrusy quinine-laced aperitif that became legendary partly because it’s widely believed to resemble the original Kina Lillet used in classic Vesper Martinis before the recipe changed. Which basically means half the cocktail world now treats it like liquid treasure.

What makes Cocchi especially brilliant is how alive and vibrant everything tastes. The vermouths and aperitifs carry proper bitterness, herbal complexity and freshness rather than simply becoming sugary mixers hiding in fancy bottles. Orange peel, alpine herbs, spice, gentian and floral notes all seem to weave together effortlessly.

The whole range also feels deeply rooted in Piedmontese drinking culture. These are drinks designed for aperitivo hours, snacks, conversation and slowly losing track of time somewhere around the second round of olives and anchovies.

There’s also a wonderful old-world confidence to the brand. Cocchi doesn’t feel like it’s desperately reinventing itself every six months to chase trends. It simply keeps making exceptional aromatised wines and quietly reminding everyone Italy solved pre-dinner drinking centuries ago.