13 cocktails with less alcohol, for now when you need to take it a bit easier…

Even if you belong to the human species that doesn’t have one Dry January If you do, it may still be advisable to take it a bit easier. Weird, so…alcoholic. Think about it: in the run-up to Christmas with all the Christmas aperitifs, people drank perhaps a little more often than usual and probably a little more than usual. And then there were the holidays. And the Christmas holidays. And then New Year’s Eve… okay. Just take it easy.

If you want to treat yourself to a drink on a nice Friday evening, we have good news for you: there is a whole class of cocktails with a slightly lower alcohol content.

The latter is because they are not based on spirits (which have an alcohol content of 40 percent or more), as is usually the case with cocktails, but on vermouth or liqueurs (which are around 18 to 25 percent). And if you think that Hugo, Aperol Spritz and Co. may be too ‘summery’ for the current temperatures – then there is also good news: there are certainly drinks that are perfect for the cold January. Here is a selection:

A two-ingredient cocktail recipe is always a good idea, and this 19th-century classic is an especially elegant option.

This Victorian classic – one of the oldest cocktails ever – was created in the US in the early 19th century. He gained international fame in 1843 when Charles Dickens mentioned him in his novel “Martin Chuzzlewit”.

This Portuguese classic is as easy to prepare as the name suggests.

It is believed that this drink was created on the occasion of the coronation of King Edward VII of England in 1902. It was first mentioned in 1930 in Harry Craddock’s “The Savoy Cocktail Book”, and a short time later in AS Crockett’s “The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book”. Despite being featured in two of the world’s most famous cocktail books, it remained an insider tip.

Speaking of “Coronation”… but let’s not be fooled! This elegant drink has no British roots, but was first mixed in Philadelphia in the 1930s and named after the inventor’s wife.

Pickles is more than just the taste, but rather a type of cocktail that usually contains a spirit, citrus, a little sweetness and usually also proteins. Prominent representatives of this category include classics such as the Sidecar, Daiquiri or Whiskey Sour – but also this modern classic in which the spirit has been replaced by Campari.

Dry sherry has been wrongly forgotten as a cocktail ingredient. This 19th century aperitif offers complex flavors that remain digestible and enjoyable.

This original version of the Negroni was invented in the 1860s by Gaspare Campari, inventor of the bitter liqueur of the same name. The Americano was a long time ago Milan-Turin known because Campari comes from Milan and Punté Mes, the originally used red vermouth, comes from Turin.

Fans of a White Negroni can enjoy this variation of the Americano. The French gentian liqueur Suze is used here and the red vermouth is replaced by white.

Today, the best-known Negroni variant, the Sbagliato, actually originated from a mistake when Mirka Stocchetto used spumante instead of gin at the Milanese bar Basso in 1972. Since then, the ‘valse’ has enjoyed great popularity as a light, sparkling summer drink.

Which brings us to the drinks that treat themselves to a sparkling wine as an accompaniment! Perhaps a bit unexpected here, but the rustic alpine amaro of the Stelvio Pass goes perfectly with a spritz.

You guessed it: an Aperol Spritz for the winter.

Oh, and before you know it it will already be February… and soon the 14th. Here we have a suitable drink for the Valentine’s tête-à-tête: a champagne cocktail, but with a dash of Campari.