Enjoying your favorite cocktails on a weekend night out or dinner out with friends is something many of us love to partake in. The ability to enjoy cocktails without the worries of over-imbibing on hard alcohol is the challenge! There is an alternative to hard alcohol, which is becoming a popular trend in cocktails that is catching on and I’d say, is here to stay.
Lo-Fi Aperitifs, a special California-based all-natural, low-ABV (alcoholic strength by volume) line of vermouths and amaro, crafted with California wines and natural herbs & botanicals, recently launched in the Los Angeles market.
Lo-Fi Dry Vermouth 
Genian Amaro 
Lo_Fi Sweet Vermouth
Many imbibers are discovering the zesty and refreshing beauty of cocktails made from Lo-Fi Aperitifs, and they are beginning to pop-up on cocktail menus across Hollywood, including Manuella, Roberta’s, The Standard West Hollywood, EP+LP, Wolf + Crane, W Hollywood among others.
The Cocktails
The brand’s flagship serve is the Lo-Fi Spritz – a vibrant pink, all-natural version of the classic, Italian spritz. The key ingredient is Lo-Fi’s Gentian Amaro, made with anise, cinchona bark, orange oil, grapefruit, ginger, rose, gentian root, and hibiscus flowers. The New World amaro is naturally sweetened with grape concentrate and raw cane sugar, and has 40% less residual sugar than its orange counterpart.
However, that’s not the only easy-to-make cocktail in Lo-Fi’s three variant repertoire of Dry Vermouth, Sweet Vermouth, and Gentian Amaro. The versatile line is enjoyable neat, in 1-1 cocktails, and also allows its consumer to experiment with their favorite ingredient in a spritz or cocktail of their choice due to the subtle, yet flavorful, herbs and botanicals that bring balance and companionship to light and dark spirits alike.
As the first wine-based aperitifs brand to hit the U.S. market in 2016, Lo-Fi has continued to offer a modern and transparent alternative for Americans who prefer honesty, integrity, and obviousness of ingredients in their spirits above the long-standing Italian secrecy that has been world dominant.
Below are some of their favorite recipes for each variant to enjoy during the holiday season:
GENTIAN AMARO
Lo-Fi Spritz
3 oz. Sparkling Wine
2 oz. Lo-Fi Gentian Amaro
1 oz. Soda
Orange Wedge
The Lombard
2 oz Lo-Fi Gentian Amaro
1 bar spoon brown sugar
Top glass with hot coffee
SWEET VERMOUTH
50/50 Manhattan
1 1/2 oz Lo-Fi Sweet Vermouth
1 1/2 oz rye whiskey
2 dashes bitters
Boothby
1 1/2 oz Lo-Fi Sweet Vermouth
1 1/2 oz bourbon
1 dash bitters
1 dash orange bitters
Top with sparkling wine, Orange peel
DRY VERMOUTH
Lo-Fi Extra Dry
2 oz Lo-Fi Dry Vermouth
Top with dry apple cider
Clover Club
3/4 oz Lo-Fi Dry Vermouth
3/4 oz lemon
1/2 oz raspberry syrup
1 1/2 oz gin
1/2 egg white
Raspberry garnish
Lo-Fi is available at local L.A. restaurants, craft cocktail bars, Whole Foods and bottle shops, is also available in San Francisco, New York, and Philly.
