An Aperitivo Evening By Peroni Nastro Azzurro

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to an exclusive Aperitivo evening by the stylish beer brand from Italy, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, at Olive Bistro Pune. The evening saw Peroni bring the age old Italian culture of Aperitivo to Pune. Aperitivo is an authentic Italian tradition, a popular occasion that brings friends together to relax and socialize after a busy day. Started in the 19th century, the Aperitivo was first introduced in the fashionable cafés of Italy for people to socialize over, enjoy their drink with and to enhance the whole experience of going out. Numerous bars all over Italy host an apertivo  typically from 6 pm to 9 pm, where they serve a wide variety of complimentary bite-sized snacks along with a drinks. Every bar that serves a respectable aperitivo will feature several different varieties of snacks to its patrons. And as usual, Olive Bistro did it with style. 

Acclaimed Chef Riccardo had created a range of exclusive scrumptious Italian dishes to accompany and compliment Peroni Nastro Azzurro. Peroni, crafted with typical Italian care and designed with the Italian and Mediterranean palette in mind, is crisp and refreshing making it a wonderful accompaniment to Italian food. There were lots of delectable vegetarian and non vegetarian appetizers but since I'm a carnivore, I skipped all the veggie options. I'm kinda crazy about smoked salmon so I loved the Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon rolls. Tender slices of Norwegian smoked salmon paired beautifully with sour Mascarpone cheese. Another outstanding dish was the Parma Ham wrapped Figs which was served with an onion marmalade. This was probably the first time I ate figs in my life and I loved the amalgamation of its unusual flavor with Parma ham. I also had the grilled shrimp with Romesco sauche which consisted to charcoal grilled prawns swerved on a bed of smoke coarse Romanesco and chives. Besides Peroni, the bar was also serving an iced beer cocktail that was pretty intersting. Ending the event on a sweet note was the traditional Italian dessert Tiramisu which was once again heavenly. 

I had a wonderful time at the event and look forward to more Aperitivo evenings in the city over great food and Peroni, of course! Have you tried Peroni? Its a refreshing and crisp beer! If you're not a beer drinker, what's your poison? Let me know in your comments below!