Campari celebrates its 150th birthday this year and no better way to celebrate than making your favorite Campari cocktail. Mine is the Americano with a twist of ingredients. Before I dive in, I want to start with some fun Campari factoids and a walk down memory lane.
Its hard to forget the first time you had this bitter aperitif - its certainly an acquired taste! My first time was in France. I "accidentally" ordered an Americano, thinking I was getting a coffee with my breakfast, instead I got a weird look from the waiter, and 5 minutes later he delivered a Negroni! Now having Campari on a night out is a ritual. Now lets move on with a few fun facts:
1. The Americano was originally name the Milano-Torino because of the origins of it's ingredients.
2. Later renamed in the 1920's because of its popularity amongst American tourists in Italy during the Prohibition era.
Lets get started with happy hour!
What you need:
- Campari
- Cynar (this is the twist!) use instead of sweet vermouth
- Soda water
- Ice
- Shaker if you like up - or just pour directly into glass (my preference is rocks)
- Lemon or orange for a twist
Prep Work:
- Fill glass with ice
- 1 oz or 4 counts Campari
- repeat same with Cynar
- fill rest of glass with soda
- garnish with orange or lemon twist
If you are in the Seattle area, the place to go for the best Campari and other amazing European style cocktails, is Spinasse. The bartendress Michelle makes a mean cocktail. (not to mention their hand cut pastas!)
