A tivoli is an amusement park, usually with different rides, games, arcade machines and scenes for performances. There is a city close to Rome in Italy called Tivoli, and this is somehow the origin for all tivolis around the world. Growing up as kids in the southern parts of Sweden we remember how exciting it was whenever a traveling tivoli would come to town, and how you spent all your weekly allowance on a fun day at the tivoli, riding carousels and buying lottery tickets.
All this fun, but with an adult twist, is somehow captured in this cocktail, not so surprisingly called the Tivoli. It is an adult allegory of all the fun kids have at a tivoli. The drink is based around American bourbon, but also contains Swedish aquavit and some Italian vermouth and Campari.
1,5 oz bourbon
0,5 oz aquavit
0,5 oz sweet vermouth
4 drops Campari
Stir with lots of fresh ice, strain and pour into fun glassware.
In the Nordics there are a few well-known fixed tivolis. In Stockholm we have “Gröna Lund” in a beautiful part of the city called Djurgården. Then in Copenhagen there is the world-famous Tivoli in the middle of the city center. They have a wooden roller-coaster and an overall vintage feel to the park, despite having some top-notch rides as well.
We were recently in Los Angeles, and while in town we spent an awesome full day at Universal Studios Hollywood. This is kind of a modern tivoli with themed rides and spectacular props. Their new Harry Potter ride is unlike anything ever experienced before and it proves how modern technology can create new tivoli experiences.
Regardless if you like amusement parks or not, the Tivoli cocktail is well worth trying. Try to think about a fun memory from your childhood when you take your first sip and this drink gets even more enjoyable. Cheers – and have fun!
