Aperol Aperitivo by Fratelli Barbieri

The Barbieri Company was established in 1891 by Giuseppe Barbieri in Padua, Italy to produce and market a wide range of liqueurs. The company’s most famous and enduring product, Aperol, was especially created in 1919 by his two sons, Luigi and Silvio for Padua International Fair, a large exhibition attracting international visitors held in their home town. Silvio Barbieri named Aperol after the French word for apéritif, ‘Apéro’, which he had learnt on a recent trip to France and seemed appropriate for their new bitter-sweet liqueur.

This spirit-based aperitif’s unique flavour and orange/red colour comes from a secret infusion of 16 ingredients, including bitter orange essence, gentian, cinchona bark (quinine), Chinese rhubarb. The majority of herbs and roots used come from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy and the recipe remains unchanged since it was first created in 1919. Aperol does not undergo any aging process and is ready to be bottled immediately after blending.

The concept of making an aperitif with an alcohol content of only 11% was revolutionary, and perhaps a little before its time, as it did not take off and became a major success until after the second world war.

In 1991, the Barbieri Company was acquired by Ireland’s C&C International, but their tenure was short-lived and in 2003 Gruppo Campari purchased Barbero and with it Aperol. Gruppo Campari have continued to build Aperol and today it is enjoyed by over 3.4 million Italians and is commonly available across Europe and North America. In 2011, Gruppo Campari repackaged Aperol and stepped up international marking of the popular Aperol Spritz drink.