What to serve for an aperitif?

Meetings in a larger group require appropriate setting – an extensive menu and alcohol list. In the case of numerous banquets, especially those at the table, the order and method of serving various alcoholic beverages to guests play a huge role. By translating court customs into a more neutral, familiar setting, you can gain a unique opportunity to taste good alcohol in excellent company and treat your guests to a real, old-Polish feast. It cannot be complete without an aperitif!

Imagine that you have been invited to an elegant banquet. You enter the interior of a luxurious mansion, but you don’t immediately start eating the main dish. You want to look around the place you are in, greet other invited guests, perhaps make new friends, exchange a few words with the hosts. The waiter comes to you with a tray with a choice of various drinks in small glasses, or small snacks – nuts, breadsticks or other delicacies. It is not champagne, because this is not the time for toasts, or wine, because it is served with main courses and desserts. However, it sometimes happens that champagne or appropriate wine is served in this role, because the concept of an aperitif is so broad that it is very easy to adapt it to the main dishes served at the party. Most often, stronger alcohol fortified with herbs and small, intensely flavored snacks are served as an aperitif.

What is an aperitif? Aperitif, or aperitivo, are alcohols and snacks that are meant to open the party, because the Latin word aperire means to open. However, it is important to distinguish an aperitif from an appetizer – the latter is associated with small snacks with a characteristic taste served after an aperitif.

Most often, stronger drinks, around forty percent strong, are served as an aperitif in small glasses, drunk in small sips. It is important that they are flavored alcohols – herbal, aniseed, with a rich flavor of spices, but also sweet. Why is it so important? The sweet and herbal taste is intended to stimulate the stomach to secrete juices, which help induce slight hunger and increase appetite. The high concentration of alcohol in an aperitif is supposed to relax you, encourage making friends and maintaining conversations.

Hosts who decide to serve an aperitif to their guests should consider drinks that are quite strong and taste good. Thanks to them, you will surely whet your guests’ appetite so that they can wait until the main course and eat it with gusto!

It is not without reason that strong, herbal alcohols – such as liqueurs, vermouth or ouzo – are served as aperitifs all over the world. The high concentration of alcohol has a relaxing effect and helps put guests in a good mood, which definitely favors a favorable atmosphere. In turn, fortifying alcohol with herbs has a beneficial effect on increasing appetite and improving digestion.

What aperitif should you serve when organizing a typically Polish, multi-course party? Various types of Goldwasser vodka will work great here. It is characterized by a deep, spicy-herbal aroma and high alcohol concentration – about 40%. This is a vodka that will not only sharpen your senses, but also looks great in classic white glass glasses. Particles of real gold floating in it make guests eager to reach for their glasses, and this is a direct path to a truly successful, well-drinking celebration!

An aperitif has a purely social function – the idea is that guests sitting down to the appetizer, accompanied by sour, lighter drinks, such as wine or champagne, will be more willing to continue the conversations they started during the opening reception. If you don’t know what to serve for an aperitif, go for the classics – Goldwasser in any flavor you choose, combined with truffle pralines, may be a hit! Thanks to the original flavors and interesting recipe, your guests will want to eat even more after such an aperitif – conversation, laughter and excellent food!