We at Hi-Time love spritzes! Bubbles, citrus, pleasing bitterness, and aromatic botanicals join forces to create an amazing cocktail. We've got an outstanding aperitif to use for your spritz and because we're Hi-Time, this isn't just your run of the mill liqueur.
Say Ciao to Contratto Aperitif!
Contratto has been part of Italy's aperitivo culture for well over a century, with its first vermouth recipes dating back to the 1890s. By the 1930s, Contratto Vermouth di Torino had become an international hit, with production reaching around 100,000 bottles a year. Like many old-school aperitivo producers, the category eventually fell out of fashion, and Contratto stopped making its vermouths and liqueurs for decades.
Thankfully, the story did not end there.
Today, under the guidance of La Spinetta winemaker Giorgio Rivetti, Contratto has brought those historic recipes back to life. The lineup still draws from formulas passed down for generations, using estate-grown grapes for its base wines and distillates along with all-natural botanicals and coloring from ingredients like beets, rosehips, and carrots. Contratto's main goal is simple: preserve the character of the original recipes while making aperitivi that feel just as relevant at today's bar as they did nearly a century ago.
Their aperitif is made in Piedmont, Italy, from a grape-based distillate produced with estate-grown fruit and infused with extracts from 28 different botanicals, including aloe, angelica, wormwood, safflower, cinchona, citrus, cloves, cardamom, licorice, juniper, mint, rhubarb, sage, nettle, and ginger. The botanicals are milled and cold-extracted over 35 days, then the aperitif is sweetened with beet sugar and naturally colored with carrot and beetroot extracts (no Red 40 or "Certified Color"). After filtration, it rests in stainless steel for 40 days before bottling at 13.5% ABV.
Contratto Aperitif opens bright and aromatic, with orange peel, orange blossom, rhubarb, and a light herbal note of juniper. The palate is juicy and citrus-driven, with sweet orange, lemon, white stone fruit, and a touch of marzipan giving it some richness before ginger and gentian bring in a more savory, bitter edge. The bitterness is noticeable but never aggressive, staying nicely balanced against the aperitif's sweetness. Fresh citrus and gentle herbal spice linger through the finish, making it bright, bittersweet, and very easy to come back to.
Say Ciao to Contratto Aperitif!
Contratto has been part of Italy's aperitivo culture for well over a century, with its first vermouth recipes dating back to the 1890s. By the 1930s, Contratto Vermouth di Torino had become an international hit, with production reaching around 100,000 bottles a year. Like many old-school aperitivo producers, the category eventually fell out of fashion, and Contratto stopped making its vermouths and liqueurs for decades.
Thankfully, the story did not end there.
Today, under the guidance of La Spinetta winemaker Giorgio Rivetti, Contratto has brought those historic recipes back to life. The lineup still draws from formulas passed down for generations, using estate-grown grapes for its base wines and distillates along with all-natural botanicals and coloring from ingredients like beets, rosehips, and carrots. Contratto's main goal is simple: preserve the character of the original recipes while making aperitivi that feel just as relevant at today's bar as they did nearly a century ago.
Their aperitif is made in Piedmont, Italy, from a grape-based distillate produced with estate-grown fruit and infused with extracts from 28 different botanicals, including aloe, angelica, wormwood, safflower, cinchona, citrus, cloves, cardamom, licorice, juniper, mint, rhubarb, sage, nettle, and ginger. The botanicals are milled and cold-extracted over 35 days, then the aperitif is sweetened with beet sugar and naturally colored with carrot and beetroot extracts (no Red 40 or "Certified Color"). After filtration, it rests in stainless steel for 40 days before bottling at 13.5% ABV.
Contratto Aperitif opens bright and aromatic, with orange peel, orange blossom, rhubarb, and a light herbal note of juniper. The palate is juicy and citrus-driven, with sweet orange, lemon, white stone fruit, and a touch of marzipan giving it some richness before ginger and gentian bring in a more savory, bitter edge. The bitterness is noticeable but never aggressive, staying nicely balanced against the aperitif's sweetness. Fresh citrus and gentle herbal spice linger through the finish, making it bright, bittersweet, and very easy to come back to.
