You know what day it is, I know what day it is, anyone with a pulse knows what day it is. I’m going to take this time to talk about one of my favorite ways to relax: Artet aperitifs.
I was first introduced to Artet a year or two back in the form of their Original Aperitif. Made with chamomile, gentian, ginger, grapefruit, and more, the flavor is light and herbal with just the right amount of bitterness to echo an alcoholic aperitif. With 2.5 mg per pour (from the conveniently attached shot glass), it offers the perfect amount to build off of, depending on your tolerance. It hit fairly quickly (within 30 minutes), and lasted just enough time to relax, laugh a bit, then come back down to Earth and move on with my day.
The fact that it’s only 30 calories per serving also helps (especially when, like me, I was trying to lose weight at the time). There’s enough in one bottle to sustain oneself for a week or more — or, like I did, enjoy the bottle with friends. I was then, for a while, without any. It was gone too soon and while I did not weep, I was a little sad.
Artet came back into my life in the form of one of their newest releases, Tet and Tonic, a canned version of their Original chamomile-flavored aperitif with lemon (and quinine, hence the tonic). It came out about a year ago, but I finally got my grubby paws on some. The flavor is best described as a mix between lemonade and tonic (or a gin and tonic with a twist…with some chamomile tea). At 35 calories per 8-ounce can, you can’t beat the impact on your waistline (especially compared to most normal tonic water-based drinks, especially when it delivers 5 mg (and 5 mg CBD) per serving.
The feeling hits, again, pretty quickly, and it carries on for at least an hour, with the gentleness of a warm hug meets the excitement of watching your favorite sports team in the championship game. The size makes it a great dosage to be social without being comatose, to relax without falling asleep — something that, now in my 30s, is an option after a long day of partying (when alcohol is involved).
Tet and Tonic — and the other Artet beverages are a great option when you’re looking to move away from alcohol, but still need a little something to overcome social anxiety, a great thing when we’ve spent so long not truly interacting with people in the ways many of us grew up.