What is Campari, anyway?

Mondays on the BottleBlog will feature a cocktail recipe that is sure to be just the thing to get you through the rest of the work week. Though we don't expect you'll bring in all the fixins into your place of employment, we hope you'll try our recipes responsibly at home

Ok, as I may have mentioned, I really enjoy gin. It is that crisp, sharp, aromatic flavor that makes it stand out from other spirits. A spirit that can actually quench your thirst in a Highball (there is nothing like a gin & tonic with a slice of lime on a warm summer day), or can pique your hunger in an aperitif. My favorite, of course, is the Martini, but when we are going out to special restaurant (and the Mrs. is driving), there’s nothing I look forward to get the taste buds going than a well-made Negroni. Since it combines gin with Campari, it certainly does pack a wallop.

I know some of the things you’re thinking. "What kind of time-warp did you find yourself in to scare up that one?" "Hey, what's with the Campari? Who drinks that anymore?" Or, "Hey, isn’t Negroni a pasta shape? You know, like Negroni and meatballs?" Ok, you’re probably not thinking that last one and I will get the frying pan over my head from my Italian wife. But Campari, the deep red, slightly bitter, aromatic liqueur, and a main component of the Negroni, is not something you typically reach for when you’re in the cordial aisle at Joe Canal's.

So what is it? Well, sometime in the 1840s, Gaspare Campari created his "bitter" using herbs, spices and fruit peels in Turin, Italy. It became an almost immediate success. Gaspare eventually settled in Milan where he set up his Café Campari. His drink was such a hit, he allowed other cafes to use his as yet unnamed concoction, as long as they displayed a "Campari Bitters" sign. Even today, all across Italy and much of Europe in fact, you can find sidewalk café tables adorned with Campari labeled umbrellas.

However, it was Gaspare's son Davide that really made Campari an international hit. Revolutionary at the time, he commissioned great contemporary artists to develop posters advertising the aperitif. Once thought to be purely ephemeral, liquor posters are prized works of art and extremely collectible.

Well, Campari is not for everyone and even some who like need to try it a few times in various cocktails to acquire a taste for it. But skillfully made, the Negroni is a terrific beginning to a fine meal. According to their website, the Negroni is an Italian cocktail invented in the early 1900s by Count Camillo Negroni, a Florentine aristocrat. Camillo asked the bartender to add some bite to his favorite drink the Americano. With the addition of gin, the Negroni became the Count's new favorite.


The Negroni
-1 ounce Campari
-1 ounce Cinzano Rosso Vermouth
-1 ounce Gin

Pour ingredients over ice into a shaker. Shake and strain in a chilled martini glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

For those who would like something a little more refreshing and not as strong, take out the gin and top off with club soda and you have the Americano. The Americano was first served in Gaspare Campari's bar in the 1860s. It was originally knon as the "Milano-Torino." Campari from Milan (Milano) and Cinazano from Turin (Torino). During Prohibition, the Italians noticed a surge of American tourists who enjoyed this drink. As a compliment to their visitors, the drink became known as the "Americano."

-1 ounce Campari
-1 ounce Cinzano Rosso Vermouth
-Splash of Club Soda

Pour Campari and Cinzano Rosso Vermouth over ice in a rocks or highball glass. Add a splash of club soda. Garnish with an orange twist.