177 replies to this topic

[MikeInSacto]

Doesn't anyone drink Campari on the rocks with a twist? I had one of those with an appetizer of white anchovies with radish and parmigiano earlier tonight, and the Campari was a good match. It cut through the oily anchovy flavor quite nicely, leaving my taste buds refreshed and ready for the next bite. Good stuff!

Mike

[BTR]

Has anyone here tried experimenting with Campari and Limoncello? 
Any thoughts?

I've not tried Campari and limoncello, but I can tell you that Campari goes very, very well with bitter lemon soda.

[Bernaise]

Just had a "lost weekend" of Negroni's at the cottage. We skipped the sweet Vermouth - cause we were out of it and garnished with thick half slices of lime and a teaspoon of orange juice. They were delicious until we ran out of lime and started using fat spanish olives (with pits).
I vaguely recall moving my hand in a karate chop fashion on a wooden table top and repeating over and over "what makes a a good drink GREAT is: booze, booze, garnish!"
jeez!

[Jamie B]

If you like Campari, maybe you should try some Amaros as well....

[ned]

Sort of off topic.  My wife and I were up in St. Helena, CA, and noticed they have a locally made soda there called Roto Frizzante.  From the description on the menu, "non-sweet, vaguely citrus-like, with an attractive astringency," and bright red color, I knew exactly what it was.  Campari and soda without alcohol.  We tried some, it had more cherry and citrus to it than Campari; but, was otherwise an exact clone.  I guess those Gott boys are spending their fortune on trips to Italy and wanted to bring the flavor back home...

Erik

Sounds like Sanbitter to me, of which I just bought ten small stylish bottles. I haven't done much sampling yet but I'm thinking it's non-alchoholic Campari, maybe with a little more bitterness.

[danoots]

Grammercy Tavern in NYC is serving a Campari Margarita on their summer menu (don't know if that just changed). If memory serves, it included a gold tequila, lime juice, campari, and cointreau. Sorry... no ratio info, but it was tasty

[*Deborah*]

The first time I had Campari was when someone was mixing tall drinks with Campari and Pellegrino Aranciata Amara. I liked it from the get-go. (This drink isn't nearly as good with regular aranciata-- got to be amara.)

Oh, I've been drinking it with the regular Aranciata this summer, and also with the Pellegrino Limonata, depending on how sweet I feel like. I will have to source some of the Amara.

I made some pretty tasty cocktails this summer with Campari, icy-cold vodka, and Ruby Red pink grapefruit juice (not from concentrate), in a martini glass. I'm guessing 1.5 oz. Campari, 1.5 oz. vodka, 1 oz. juice, from the size of my glass.

And there's nothing like a little shot of Campari when your stomach is unhappy.

[J_Ozzy]

I'm a fan of Campari, too.

In the hot afternoons, I like to make a sort-of Campari highball

1.5 oz Campari
1.5 oz Sweet Vermouth
Stir with ice
Top with Tonic Water

I guess you could call it a Cautious Americano

The sweetness of the tonic water cuts the Campari down a bit. Plus I'm a huge fan of tonic water (I enjoy it on its own). anyways, it works for me.

[Chris Amirault]

Grammercy Tavern in NYC is serving a Campari Margarita on their summer menu (don't know if that just changed). If memory serves, it included a gold tequila, lime juice, campari, and cointreau. Sorry... no ratio info, but it was tasty

Surely some bold New Yorker can get over there and get ratios, eh?

[Ktepi]

Thank you, eGullet, for introducing me to Campari. I'd heard of it before but didn't know much about it, and had never thought to try it; the other day when I finally saw a Negroni on the cocktails menu, I ordered it.

It was over-iced, the same problem I have with old-fashioneds when I order them out, and the gin was a little stronger than I'd go for if I made it myself -- but it was still a good way to discover Campari, and since we were stopping at the liquor store on the way home anyway, I picked up a bottle and a six-pack of Schweppes bitter lemon.

Other than a caipirinha to check out the new cachaca I bought, I haven't drunk anything without Campari since, and am at the end of the bottle. After a few different orange-and-Campari-and-soda drinks and a stab at Campari-and-Coke that I didn't think worked, I ran out of oranges and have been drinking it with soda or tonic, sometimes a splash of gin, sometimes lemon or lime, often a shake of Gary Regan's orange bitters.

(The comparison I've been using with friends is that Campari is a lot like Moxie, but unfortunately that's made most of them refuse to try it.)

I've tried combinations with limoncello, but haven't found any I like yet. Kind of curious about Campari and rye or Campari and bourbon.

It'll definitely be one of those liquors I replenish as soon as I'm out of it.

[slkinsey]

I've tried combinations with limoncello, but haven't found any I like yet.  Kind of curious about Campari and rye or Campari and bourbon.

I would think that Campari with limoncello would be way too sweet.

As for Campari and rye, you could try a variation on the Red Hook. The Red Hook is 2 ounces of rye and a half-ounce each of Punt e Mes and maraschino liqueur, stirred with ice and strained. You could sub Campari for the Punt e Mes for more bitter herbal bite.

[Ktepi]

As for Campari and rye, you could try a variation on the Red Hook.  The Red Hook is 2 ounces of rye and a half-ounce each of Punt e Mes and maraschino liqueur, stirred with ice and strained.  You could sub Campari for the Punt e Mes for more bitter herbal bite.

Unfortunately, no luck with maraschino liqueur here yet -- the trouble with living in a college town is the effect it has on liquor availability. But it's on my look-for list next time I'm out of town so I can make my own Aviations -- this is a good reason to bump it up (or suggest it as a Christmas gift from friends in luckier locales).

Definitely like the sound of that, though.

[Jmahl]

I don't see anything on the classic Americano. Campari, sweet vermouth, on the rocks with a splash of soda and a slice of orange. Started drinking these in Mexico 25 years ago. If you like Campari you will love Cynar. Make your Negroni or Americano with Cynar and really live.

[phlip]

admitted campari fiend here. the red hook variation works very well. its something ive been playing with lately. i like to add orange bitters and a flaming orange twist. it also works quite well using gin. also wonder if anyone has tried the cornwall negroni. also a quite tasty treat. oh and while im at it. campari beginners should give the eden a whirl. served at the flat iron lounge its gin campari lemon and rose syrup. very subtle.
cheers

[Ktepi]

campari beginners should give the eden a whirl. served at the flat iron lounge its gin campari lemon and rose syrup. very subtle.
cheers

This reminded me of the Rooh Afza syrup that I've had sitting around for a while, so I tried something like that just now -- about 1:1:1:.5 gin/Campari/lemon/Rooh Afza. The Rooh Afza is a rosehip-screwpine syrup, very sweet, very strong -- it's still very pronounced here, and I need to play around with proportions more, and I might try lime instead of lemon. The gin practically disappears, and the Campari bitterness is very muted, to a level I associate with pink grapefruit.

But it's a good flavor combination, in any case.

[eje]

After having a Jasmine that wasn't to my taste out at a bar last year, I put off making one for myself.

However, I was in the mood for a Campari cocktail on Saturday, so I gave it a second chance, and found it delicious.

My only comment would be, I found the recipe in Harrington's book, with 3/4 ounce fresh lemon, a bit sharp. Perhaps I had a very sour lemon. In any case, Robert's formulation above, with 1/2 oz lemon, seems right on.

[Friend of the Farmer]

My goodness, very little mention in this thread of the extraordinary effect of burning the orange oil essence in the classic cocktail? Moments after you shave the orange peel, put on a match (or lighter torch for lazy me) and the orange oil flames and may lightly brown the peel. You'll notice the difference in the contribution of the zest. My first Campari was done this way many years ago in London and again last year while on biz in Minneapolis (perhaps at Vincent?). Try it and don't get burned!

Edited by Friend of the Farmer, 10 April 2006 - 08:38 PM.

[slbunge]

Wow. First >70degree day in the Midwest this year and I'm thinking about Campari and soda with lime. Alas, I got home too late to mix one and sit outside sipping. Kudos eje for bringing this thread back to life.

[slbunge]

Sitting on the porch in the sun. Fantastic 70deg day.

Juice of 2 1/2 key limes.
1 oz Campari
Soda
Served in a highball with ice.

Yum.

[eje]

[...]
Rosita
1 1/2 ounce Tequila
1/2 ounce Sweet Vermouth
1/2 ounce Dry Vermouth
1/2 ounce Campari
dash of bitters
Stir with ice. Stir with ice, strain into an iced filled Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with lemon twist.
[...]

Mmmmm...Herradura blanco, noilly sweet, vya dry, campari, angostura...and the lemon twist really brings it together.

If only decent tequila wasn't so darned expensive!

[chardan]

I'm glad I found this thread. On some days, it's getting to be 105F or so here in Southern Oregon, so I of course turn to the restorative powers of bitters.

My current favorites. These aren't exactly "cocktails", but I usually like to keep it simple. :-} I figure that although they're pretty obvious, nobody's mentioned them yet...

Campari and Soda: club soda, or just since nice sparkling mineral water, ice, chilled Campari to taste.

Cynar: Ice cold, straight as a shot or on the rocks.

Fernet Branca: How isn't this good? Guess how I enjoy it..? You've got it. Soda, on the rocks, or neat in a well-chilled glass.

...oddly enough, although I usually do enjoy Unterberg and Jaegermeister, I prefer them in cooler weather. Not sure why. The same is true for me of various Chatreuse, or similar.

I'm editing because I forgot to mention an interesting and very herby/rooty spirit I encountered
in Bavaria: Baerwurz, I believe. I remember liking it very much ice cold.

Note: A good friend of mine has asked me to remember to mention that Baerwurz, like Chartreuse, or many spirits, does not refer to a single spirit produced by a single company but rather to a genre of spirits.

(I suspect, for example, that few German spirit-lovers would recognize what frequently passes in the US for "Schnapps" as schnapps. Just a guess.)

Edited by chardan, 02 July 2006 - 02:40 AM.

[slkinsey]

Note: A good friend of mine has asked me to remember to mention that Baerwurz, like Chartreuse, or many spirits, does not refer to a single spirit produced by a single company but rather to a genre of spirits.

This is getting off topic for a thread about Campari cocktails, but... Chartreuse is not a "genre of spirits." Chartreuse is the proprietary name of the herbal spirits produced by the Carthusian monks at the monastery in Chartreuse. No one else may call their spirit "Chartreuse." They do produce three varieties of Chartreuse (Green, Yellow and Vieillissement Exceptionnellement Prolongé), but these are all of a piece and clearly variations on a theme by the same maker. I'd say it's similar, albeit with some differences, to Wild Turkey producing rye as well as bourbon at 80 and 101 proofs (the point being that "Wild Turkey" is not a genre of spirits).

[chardan]

I stand corrected! And, appreciate learning that. I've seen what appeared to be "Chartreuse" that was very different than what I'd seen before (just green and yellow)
and made an assumption. Thanks.

_Jesse Williamson ;-};
(As pennance, I'm going to have Campari and soda. :>)

[J_Ozzy]

I've developed a taste for Campari and orange juice along with deli sandwiches. The dill pickle flavour goes very nicely with thinly sliced meats on a bun :)

edit: spelling

Edited by J_Ozzy, 04 July 2006 - 02:16 PM.

[raxelita]

On a hot day I fancy a draft lager or pilsner beer finished off with campari (bout 3/4 oz) and grapefruit (maybe 1 1/2 oz). Does this have a name already? Is it sacreligious?

[Bricktop]

The first time I had Campari was when someone was mixing tall drinks with Campari and Pellegrino Aranciata Amara. I liked it from the get-go. (This drink isn't nearly as good with regular aranciata-- got to be amara.)

My first time with Campari was 1972 in Greece. My family was on vacation there, and were in the hotel bar. A youngish American fellow who we'd become friendly with was drinking a Campari and soda with a slice of orange. I told him how good it looked, and he offered me a taste. Yikes, was that disgusting! How could something that looked so appealing taste so awful?? My parents just laughed. (BTW I was 14 at the time).

Fast forward to Columbus Day 2006, when my wife and kids and I are at Union Square Cafe (NYC) for lunch, and their cocktail of the day was Campari, Aranciata and lime. Mrs. Polford slurped down two in no time at all. Tess, I am guessing it was the regular Aranciata, because although they presented the little bottle, I really didn't notice that part, but the lime converted it to a bit more amara. I bought a bottle of Campari that day, and had to buy another bottle yesterday, that's how much we've been hammering that drink.

Today I noticed this thread, and made her a Romanza (top of thread). Add it to the rotation, it's a nice drink. Made myself an Aviation, my new go-to drink, but I think next up this evening is a Negroni or an Americano. I love this new hobby!

[ThinkingBartender]

Campariano

Winner of the 2006 UK Campari Competition.

Created by Ivan "Slon" Chutorskich

Recipe

* 25ml Campari
* 25ml Cranberry Juice
* 20ml Passionfruit Puree
* Dash Angostura Bitters
* Dash Frangelico
* Whole Passionfruit squeezed into glass

Shake with Ice, and then pour into Tall Glass; top with Sparkling Lemonade; Garnish: Physalis fruit, open the leaves, deep the fruit in Sugar Syrup, than into sugar, put on the top of the drink upside down, so it looks like the sun!

[Ktepi]

Trying the Old Pal right now and really like it; I'm surprised how much the bourbon comes through.

Lately I've been drinking a lot of Campari and tonic with a dash or two of Goldschlager -- which I'd picked up to dash into hot cider but tried with Campari on a whim. Even with just a dash, the cinnamon survives the Campari and really kind of seems to suit it, especially this time of year.

[S_tran]

Trying the Old Pal right now and really like it; I'm surprised how much the bourbon comes through.

Lately I've been drinking a lot of Campari and tonic with a dash or two of Goldschlager -- which I'd picked up to dash into hot cider but tried with Campari on a whim.  Even with just a dash, the cinnamon survives the Campari and really kind of seems to suit it, especially this time of year.

When I was in Italy I was near Venice in a little town called treviso and my friends introduced me to spritz! It made with campri, prosecco, and tonic water topped off with a meaty olive and orange slices. Delicious! i miss drinking it at night outside with my friends.

[phlawless]

has anyone added campari to a mojito? does campari even work with rum?

for some reason lime/mint/campari sound good to me...and would dark or white rum be better?