The Perfect Americano

[bleudauvergne]

While dining at my husband's aunt's place one sunny summer afternoon, she served Americanos in a big glass pitcher full of ice with bitter oranges floating on top. She served them in whiskey glasses with a spoon which was for crushing the orange. She gave me the recipe, and this was what was in them.

2 parts Martini Rosso

2 parts dry white vermouth

1/2 part campari

1/2 part gin

That lunch is on my list as one of the highlights of my summer!

Since then, I have taken to judging an Italian restaurant what they bring me when I order an Americano. It really differs from place to place. Sometimes it comes tasting like a syrupy glass of cough syrup, or even like cherry kool-aid laced with some kind of cleaning product. Only one or two places that I've been to actually seemed to be serving a real one (or what's real in my book).

I mixed up a batch of my auntie's recipe to some French guests once and they left their glasses making rings on their coasters after the first sip. It got me to wondering if the recipe I have is the real Americano.

Is it?

- Lucy

[beans]

Welcome to eG bleudauvergne!

The Americano is a "lighter" and refreshing long drink variation of the classic Negroni, replacing the Gin for Soda Water.

1 ounce Campari

1 ounce Red Sweet Vermouth

Soda Water

Garnish with a twist of lemon and orange.

Your auntie's recipe sounds intriguing and well worth sampling. It seems to resemble the Negroni, but by the adding both Dry and Sweet Vermouths would render it a "Perfect" Negroni, however, the proportions are not the same as your recipe. For instance:

Negroni (classic recipe)

1 ounce Gin

1 ounce Campari

1 ounce Red Sweet Vermouth

Garnish with lemon zest.

"Perfect" Negroni

1 ounce Gin

1 ounce Campari

1/2 ounce Red Sweet Vermouth

1/2 ounce Dry Vermouth

Garnish with lemon zest.

Something else that sort of popped into my mind was a Napoli, however that is with Vodka instead of Gin and with the addition of Soda Water.

Napoli

1 ounce Campari

1 ounce Vodka

1/2 ounce Dry Vermouth

1/4 ounce Sweet Vermouth

Soda Water

Garnish with an orange twist.

I hope some of this helps. Perhaps someone else can add to this?

Cheers!

Edited February 10, 2004 by beans (log)

[JAZ]

Not much to add to beans's reply. You recipe sounds wonderful, but as she noted, it's not a classic Americano, so you probably won't ever get that if you order an Americano in a bar. What passes for an Americano in bars can be all over the map, as you've noticed, but it should be nothing but Campari, sweet vermouth and soda, with the Campari and vermouth in pretty much equal proportions.

Vermouth based aperitifs (and the whole family of bitter-sweet drinks, like those made with Campari) are not terribly popular with Americans, in general, but I'm a little surprised that your French guests didn't seem to care for your drink. I think it sounds like a great summertime option.

[bleudauvergne]

Campari, sweet vermouth and soda

Aha! This explains the kool-aid laced with cleaning product flavor that seemed to be coming up. Ok, I'll remember that.

-Lucy

[haresfur]

Dave Wondrich has a good piece on the Americano, of course. Turns out our current idea that there is one recipe is just a construction.

 

Here's one from the New York Times in 1954. Personally, I prefer about 2/3 Campari and 1/3 Vermouth.

 

[tanstaafl2]

The "Americanino" that he describes at the end sounds rather delightful for the summer to me! Will have to give it a try.

 

Ingredients:2 oz Cinzano bianco vermouth

1 oz Amaro Braulio (or other Alpine-style amaro. if you don't have it he suggests a 50-50 mix of Fernet-Branca and Montenegro )

.5 oz Splash sparkling water

 

Coupe, chilled

Garnish: Swatch of thin-cut lemon peel

 

Directions:Add all the ingredients, except the sparkling water, to a mixing glass and fill with cracked ice. Stir well and strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Top with a half-ounce splash of chilled sparkling water and twist a swatch of thin-cut lemon peel over the top.

[Frederic]

Wondrich gave a talk at Tales the summer before that article and it probably spawned that piece. My notes from that talk (which cover different points of the drink's evolution including Italian business reports about how their products were being utilized in America)

 

https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2016/08/all-americano-italy-and-cocktail.html