Any meal accompanied by alcoholic beverages must be organized according to the rules. Drinks consumed before, during and after meals are selected in a certain way in strictly specified quantities. If you don't want to fall flat on your face when throwing a party, learn terms like aperitif and digestif.
What is an aperitif
It is customary to call an aperitif a drink (usually alcoholic), which is consumed before meals to increase appetite, as well as quench thirst. Aperitifs perform many functions: they stimulate the secretion of gastric juice, thereby stimulating the appetite, help to wait until the dishes are brought, and tune in the desired mood. Juice, wine, champagne and any other alcoholic beverage can be used as an aperitif.
Aperitifs are classified as follows:
- single, - combined, - mixed.
Singles, as the name implies, consist of one drink, be it one kind of juice or one kind of wine. Combo drinks include several different drinks of the choice of visitors, which are served at the same time. Finally, mixed aperitifs are combinations of different drinks.
Aperitifs are served on a common tray, usually covered with a napkin.
When choosing aperitifs, you must adhere to a number of rules. First of all, alcohol in no case should make guests feel intoxicated, but only provoke and awaken the feeling of hunger. It is imperative to take into account the combination of food and drinks (white wine - for fish, red - for meat, etc.). Finally, hot or sugary drinks are never used as an aperitif.
What is a digestive
Digestive is a collective name for drinks served at the end of a meal and to aid digestion. If it is alcohol, then it should be stronger than an aperitif. Some experts consider tea and coffee to be a digestive. Most often, fortified wines (port, sherry, cognac), brandy, whiskey and liqueurs are used as digestifs. The main rule is that a drink served after a meal should have a brighter taste and aroma and greater strength.
If it is customary to serve light drinks as an aperitif, then dark drinks are usually used as a digestif.
The digestif must certainly be combined with drinks that were consumed during the meal. For example, if the dinner was accompanied by red wine, then at the end it would be more logical to serve port or grappa than vodka or whiskey.
All kinds of liqueurs are favorites among the digestives. Thanks to the herbs and tannins they contain, they do an excellent job of improving digestion and improving mood. Remember that digestifs should be drunk in strictly limited quantities: no more than 50 g of whiskey, no more than 25 g of bitters.
