Zach Selch compares Campari soda and Aperol Spritz in Rome, showing how Italian aperitivo culture shifted from the bitter, sophisticated Campari to the sweeter Aperol over two decades. Campari appealed to older Italians; Aperol won over younger drinkers with a lighter taste.
Chapters
I'm sitting here in Rome after a day's work. I'm gonna have myself a little drink. When I was younger, Campari and soda was a very sophisticated drink in Italy, and everybody drank it. Pretty much anywhere you went, people would be drinking Campari soda. And I grew to enjoy it. I'd take Campari home. My wife and I would drink it back in the States Sometimes I'd ask for it when I went to an Italian restaurant, etc. I thought of it as a sophisticated Italian drink. Skip forward 20 years and enter the Aperol Spritz. Nowadays, the Aperol Spritz is a sophisticated drink, and the Campari is about as sophisticated as that brandy sour your aunt from Milwaukee drinks on the weekends. It's sort of like an old photo type drink. And when my wife and I were here a few years ago and we ordered Campari sodas, everybody looked at us like we were totally the least hip, oldest, out-of-touch people in the room, which we probably were. But when you're in Italy, this is a nice drink to have. Now frankly, I like the Campari soda myself better, but they're both very refreshing. They're a little bitter. I'll tell you what, the The big difference is the Aperol does have a bit more sweetness, and I'm guessing it's more attuned to a younger generation that's grown up on sweeter things, whereas the Campari was probably aimed at people— I'm probably on the young side of the target market for the people who were drinking the Campari. The Campari soda was probably aimed at people who were born before 1950 or so and were much more used to a sour, bitter type of cocktail. In any event, Italians really know how to enjoy a cocktail at about sundown before they have a nice dinner with little snacks. They're very good at that. So when you're in Rome, try to enjoy something like that. Remember, when you're ready to grow your international sales, reach out to us. We can help.
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