Italian XI cocktails

Frustratingly for the rest of us, Italy is one of the most successful football teams, having won the World Cup in 1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006, only outperformed by Brazil with five wins and equalled by Germany with four. The team is known as gli Azzurri (the Blues) due to their Savoy blue shirts, the colour of the royal House of Savoy which reigned over the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1946.

While the Italian team's strip may be blue, the popularity of bittersweet aperitif-style liqueurs such as Campari, Aperol and Select in Italy means that many Italian cocktails have a distinctive red hue. Follows our selection of starting XI Italian cocktails.

Milano Torino
With: Red bitter liqueur and rosso vermouth.
We say: Created at Milan's Caffè Camparino in the 1860's, the Milano-Torino is named after its original ingredients Campari from Milan and sweet vermouth from Turin. Later soda was added to create the Americano, the Milano-Torino also morphed into the Negroni with gin added.

Negroni Cocktail
With: Gin, red bitter liqueur and rosso vermouth.
We say: Legend has it, that the Negroni was created at the beginning of the 20th century when, Italian born Count Camillo Negroni, a regular customer at Casoni Bar in Florence, one day, asked for more 'kick' in his Americano, so bartender Fosco Scarselli switched soda for gin.

Cardinale
With: Gin, red bitter liqueur and dry vermouth.
We say: Although some have attributed the origin of this cocktail to Harry's Bar in Venice, evidence suggest this Negroni-like Italian cocktail was created in the 1950s by one of his predecessors, Giovanni Raimondo at what was then The Excelsior Hotel. The dry vermouth produces a lighter cocktail than when made with the more usual sweet vermouth.

Aperol Spritz
With: Prosecco, Aperol aperitivo and soda water.
We say: Also known as the spritz Veneziano, Spritz cocktails originated back in the 19th century when Venice was still part of the Austrian empire. Austrian soldiers drank the local wines of Veneto in taverns, where they often diluted them with water to achieve similar alcohol content to beer - hence the spritzer.

Limoncello Spritz
With: Prosecco, limoncello liqueur and soda water.
We say: A modern addition to the Spritz family, this zesty cocktail incorporates limoncello from Southern Italy.

Garibaldi
With: Red bitter liqueur, sugar syrup and orange juice.
We say: Named after the famous revolutionary general who helped liberate and reunify Italy. The two main ingredients, Campari and orange juice, are used to represent the unification of the north and south, with the north represented by Campari from Milan and Sicilian oranges representing the south.

Aviazione
With: Grappa, maraschino liqueur, crème de violette liqueur and lemon juice.
We say: An Italian influenced riff on the classic aviation with fragrant grappa in place of the usual gin base and floral crème de violette very slightly dialled up to match the aromatics of the grappa.

Negroni Bianco Bergamotto
With: Gin, rosolio di bergamotto and dry vermouth.
We say: Created using Italicus, an Italian bergamot aperitivo, this cocktail is dry with wine like-minerality, zesty bergamot and piney gin notes.

Bellini
With: Peach purée, peach schnapps, lemon juice and prosecco.
We say: It has long been traditional in Italy to marinade fresh peaches in wine and the Bellini draws on this tradition, combining prosecco with puréed white peaches. Giuseppe Cipriani created this drink at Harry's Bar, Venice, in 1945, fourteen years after he opened his tiny place on the edge of the Grand Canal, not far from Piazza San Marco.

Puccini
With: Tangerine/ mandarin, mandarin liqueur and prosecco.
We say: Named after the composer of Madame Butterfly, this cocktail is popular in Venice and other areas of northern Italy. Using mandarin instead of orange makes the Puccini sharper.

Sgroppino
With: Vodka single cream, prosecco, and lemon sorbet.
We say: This hybrid cocktail and dessert is often served after meals in Venice. The name comes from a vernacular word meaning 'untie', a reference to the belief that it relaxes your stomach after a hearty meal.