Martini Floreale Aperitivo

Unlike most of the firms springing up to exploit the new interest in sophisticated non-alcoholic drinks, Martini has over a hundred and fifty years of experience to create their two non-alcoholic aperitivi. Their ability to balance sweetness, bitterness and aromatics has been long-honed and it shows.  I loved the Rosso, with its depth of flavour and long bitter finish (you can read that review here); the second of their duet of aperitifs (they are sold as a pair) has a lighter, zizzier feel.  It’s a fabulous golden colour – Martini really understand how to make a drink look good – and the label declares it uses Roman chamomile. That’s all they’re prepared to tell us – there’s a KFC attitude to the final details of what goes into this drink. All we can learn from the label, apart from the chamomile, is that it contains ‘Natural ingredients’.  It goes on to list a lot of ingredients that the newer non-alc spirits strive to avoid in a quest for ‘pureness’: acidity regulator, citric acid, potassium sorbate, sugar, sodium benzoate, tartaric acid and so on.  But I don’t care.  It’s the drink that counts, and this has the same gorgeous balance of sweetness and flavour as the Rosso, with a fabulously long-lasting bitter finish.   The packaging is a treat in itself, opening into a carnival of flowers, and the label has the sophisticated been-around-forever look of something that should be sitting on the bar of a small trattoria. I could sip this for hours, preferably in hot sunshine while sitting at a cafe after doing the Uffizi.