Campari

[edemuth]

I thought there might be other eGulleteers who are as fond of Campari as I...

So far I have only had Campari with orange juice and in a Negroni.  Most of the time I have to tell the bartender how to make a Negroni, which I thought was a fairly standard cocktail.  :confused:  I know it's not as popular as a Cosmopolitan, but come on!

I'd like to try some new combinations.  Are there any other great Campari drinks out there?  How do you like to drink it?

[yvonne johnson]

I've not had a Negroni and had to look it up.

http://beverage.allrecipes.com/az/NgrniCcktil.asp

Have you tried the simple drink of Campari and soda with a wedge of orange? Some years back, I went through a phase of ordering this as an aperitif. It's refreshing too.

[Wilfrid]

I plead guilty.  I often make a Negroni as an early evening cocktail.  It's easy, and it doesn't render you babbling drunk before dinner.

I have a specific habit with campari and soda, which is that I always order it before dinner at San Domenico.  Bitter and appetizing, although I wouldn't drink it every day.

[edemuth]

Have you tried the simple drink of Campari and soda with a wedge of orange? Some years back, I went through a phase of ordering this as an aperitif. It's refreshing too.

No, I haven't.  I've thought of ordering it when out but didn't want it to taste too bitter and be out my $6, so I've defaulted to one of the above two drinks, depending on how much alcohol I desire at that moment.

I will try it at home next time I need a refreshing drink.  If it's too bitter, I can just add some orange juice.  

My usual "refresher" is a Sapphire and tonic--always perks me up!  For some reason, only Bombay Sapphire will do.  Otherwise it's just not the same.

[edemuth]

I have a specific habit with campari and soda, which is that I always order it before dinner at San Domenico.  Bitter and appetizing, although I wouldn't drink it every day.

Wilfrid, what do you order at San Domenico that goes well with the Campari and soda?  (I assume that's why you have it there.)

[Wilfrid]

No, you are assuming I am rational.  I usually get shown to a table fairly swiftly at SD, but occasionally I get a few minutes at their rather swish, semi-circular marble bar.  It is then, as an aperitif, that I order the campari.  When it is brought to my table, it goes with nothing at all, least of all the breads and olive oil with which the meal begins.

I have developed a mild compulsive-obsessive trait which involves always drinking certain drinks when I am in bars I associate with them.  Sardi's - Wild Turkey, Milano's - Guinness, San Domenico - Campari, and so on.  Relatively harmless, I think

[Christopher]

I drink Campari like water and for those who usually go for Campari with OJ I cannot tell you how much better Campari is with grapefruit juice.

If you like Campari as an aromatic cocktail component try this:

2 parts campari, 2 parts chartreuse jaune and 6 parts GFJ or OJ.

Which leads me to:

Any other chartreuse junkies?

[Roger McShane]

Yvonne

Have you tried the simple drink of Campari and soda with a wedge of orange? Some years back, I went through a phase of ordering this as an aperitif. It's refreshing too.

Absolutely right! My view has always been that the simpler a drink is, the better.

Campari is a mildly bitter drink that is a great appetite stimulant. I consider it to be one of the world's great pre-dinner drinks along with champagne, some dry white wines, Manzanilla sherry, gin and tonic and sometimes (but not often) a classic martini.

Most other cocktails that I have come across are precisely the opposite - designed to deaden the appetite.

[Blue Heron]

I like Campari on the rocks before dinner.  I never thought of mixing it with grapefruit juice or OJ...hmmm... I'll have to give that a try sometime.

[Malawry]

I drink Campari like water and for those who usually go for Campari with OJ I cannot tell you how much better Campari is with grapefruit juice.

That's it. I'm picking up a bottle of Campari before I head home today. (Thereby making edemuth a very happy girl indeed.) I hope it goes well with tonight's paella dinner...

[Wilfrid]

Okay, I was going to try to finish unpacking my clothes this evening (apartment move), but instead I am going to have to figure out which box the campari is in.  I need to know what color a campri/grapefruit drink is going to be!

[edemuth]

Okay, I was going to try to finish unpacking my clothes this evening (apartment move), but instead I am going to have to figure out which box the campari is in.  I need to know what color a campri/grapefruit drink is going to be!

Hopefully a less ghastly one than Campari and OJ...  :wow:

Wilfrid, I like your associating certain drinks with certain restaurants, because every time you have one you then call up good memories about a place.  Sense memories can be quite nice!

Good luck with your unpacking...

[yvonne johnson]

Another note on the merits of grapefruit juice. A few months back, I went through a craving for a cocktail that I made up. Tequila sunrise substituting gj for oj. Very tasty, and people (well, one chum in this case) I gave it to liked it too.

Like Roger, I'm partial to g&t, but I'm starting to hesitate before ordering it when I'm out. Places that should know better (e.g., Algonquin in NY) offer such lousy, flat tonic. I seem to remember that Nico, of London fame, despises customers who order g&t as an aperitif. He says it ruins the palate. I suppose if you drank loads of tonic that can be sweet. But I love a g&t in the evening before dinner. That said, I'm going to try this famous Negroni. I've got everything bar the sweet vermouth.

oh...while we're at it, would people mind sharing their precise recipes for the Negroni?

[edemuth]

I drink Campari like water and for those who usually go for Campari with OJ I cannot tell you how much better Campari is with grapefruit juice.

If you like Campari as an aromatic cocktail component try this:

2 parts campari, 2 parts chartreuse jaune and 6 parts GFJ or OJ.

I honestly don't know why I never thought of mixing Campari with grapefruit juice before, since I LOVE grapefruit juice.  Sea Breeze was actually my drink of choice many years ago.  It's so 80s.

I'll try it tonight and report back!  Also, Malawry has never tried Campari before, so this should be interesting...

I haven't tried chartreuse but I'm definitely curious.  If the liquor store has a small bottle I'll pick one up.

[jordan]

Like a Negroni but different.  Try 2 parts vodka, 1 part campari, and 1 part OJ.  Shaken and strained into a cocktail glass.  It has a nice bitter taste, it gets your mouth watering and ready for food and it packs a punch.

[edemuth]

Another note on the merits of grapefruit juice. A few months back, I went through a craving for a cocktail that I made up. Tequila sunrise substituting gj for oj. Very tasty, and people (well, one chum in this case) I gave it to liked it too.

Like Roger, I'm partial to g&t, but I'm starting to hesitate before ordering it when I'm out. Places that should know better (e.g., Algonquin in NY) offer such lousy, flat tonic. I seem to remember that Nico, of London fame, despises customers who order g&t as an aperitif. He says it ruins the palate. I suppose if you drank loads of tonic that can be sweet. But I love a g&t in the evening before dinner. That said, I'm going to try this famous Negroni. I've got everything bar the sweet vermouth.

oh...while we're at it, would people mind sharing their precise recipes for the Negroni?

This is the basic recipe for a Negroni:

1 ounce gin

1 ounce sweet vermouth

1 ounce Campari

Garnish with an orange slice.

Yvonne, would you share your Tequila Sunrise recipe?  Let us know what you think of the Negroni too.

I don't know the Nico of London fame, but I do know the Nico of Velvet Underground fame...

I agree that a G&T is a great aperitif; also it's especially good on its own on a hot day.  Roger is quite right that it's one of the few alcoholic drinks that wake up rather than deaden the palate.

[Wilfrid]

I have a wonderful mental picture of Nico Ladenis singing with the Velvet Underground.

[yvonne johnson]

Thanks jordan and edemuth. I have both vodka and gin at home so will experiment.

As for my grapefruit tequila sunrise, I don't use measures.

a) place generous amount of ice in glass. I used very large red wine glasses, goodness knows why.

b) pour in generous amount of tequila. I happened to use Jose Cuervo Especial.

c) Add ruby grapefruit juice. I'd say around one cup

d) gently add a little (I don't go overboard with this, as I don't like a lot of sweetness) grenadine close to lip of glass and it glides to the bottom.

Cheers!

Oh, and Nico. He's a chef in London, who, during the 1980s, was the one with a temper (very tame compared to the current bad boys). If a customer asked for salt, he'd go up to the table and pour an entire canister of salt on the person's meal, or was it over their head?

[Katherine]

I find a campari and soda very refreshing with 3-4 parts of soda to 1 part of Campari. Add vodka if you want a drink that seems alcoholic.

A sweet martini-3 parts gin with 1 part sweet vermouth, 1/4 teaspoon Campari, and a cherry-is the perfect drink. Sophisticated, but not self-consciously so.

[Malawry]

So, on Friday, as soon as we got to my house, edemuth and I broke out my new bottle of Campari, some grapefruit juice, and the liter of Wink soda I bought at the liquor store last weekend. I made up a Wink-and-Campari and a grapefruit-and-Campari and we did a little taste test.

The Wink-and-Campari was truly excellent. The soda is not excessively sweet, which helps, and the grapefruity-citrusy flavor worked really well with the Campari.

The grapefruit-and-Campari is good, but not nearly as good as the Wink version. It has a more strongly bitter flavor...the Campari does not bring out the sweetness of the juice but instead plays up the bitterness of the pith. But it's still tasty, and I regard it as worth drinking.

I have now been officially converted to Campari fandom.

[Blue Heron]

I love the strong flavor & bitterness of straight or on the rocks Campari.  Can anyone suggest appetizers that would complement this drink?

[Wilfrid]

I knew I had another campari cocktail I liked, and just got around to looking it up.  It's a refreshing concoction called a Jasmine.

Here's the bartender.com recipe:

http://www.webtender.com/db/drink/4700

The one I have used is from an excellent little book, Cocktail by Harrington and Moorehead, published by Viking.  I like the book not just for the recipes, but for the cute pictures and the interesting historical background they give to each drink.  Their Jasmine recipe ups the lemon juice from three quarters to a whole ounce.  To taste, I suppose.

[Jim Dixon]

I'm a fan of Campari and soda, especially in those little cone-shaped bottles of premixed C & S you can buy in Italy. My problem out here in oregon is finding the stuff. We have the most repressive liquor laws (I think only Washington has higher prices...but here only state-licensed liquor stores can sell spirits, beer and wine in regular grocery stores, but neither seem to carry Campari regularly).

Jim

[edemuth]

My problem out here in oregon is finding the stuff.

Jim, perhaps we could trade:  some Campari for a bottle of your olive oil....  

[Jim Dixon]

if you invite me to your next dinner party, I'll bring it myself