Campari Cocktails

[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 July 2, 2006 by chardan (log)

[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 July 4, 2006 by J_Ozzy (log)

[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?

[Chris Amirault]

Try it and let us know!

[Vesper Lynd]

Aperol is very similar to Campari, it's a little sweeter, more fruity and far less bitter, so would probably be a good stepping stone for someone unfamiliar with the up front bitterness of Campari. It is also only 11% abv as compared to Camparis 25% abv.

Apperol and grapefruit juice is a great summer drink.

[eje]

Saw this in Sunday's NY Times "Shaken and Stirred" Column...

Fergus Henderson digs Campari!

The Perfect Match With Pig’s Tails*, Jonathan Miles

BICYCLETTE

Adapted from Fergus Henderson

2 ounces Campari.

1 ½ounces dry white wine.

Add Campari to a wine glass, fill 2/3 up the glass with ice and add wine. Stir, taste and adjust as desired.

The drink is known in its native Italy as a Bicyclette — owing, Mr. Henderson said, to the old men who drink it and then “go weebling home upon their bicycles.” Bracing and bittersweet, it is simplicity defined: nearly equal parts white wine and Campari, served over ice. “As an aperitif, it does wonders,” said Mr. Henderson, who leads off his second cookbook, “Beyond Nose to Tail,” with the recipe for the drink, and who featured it at a pair of New York dinners last month, at Savoy and the Spotted Pig, when he was in the city to promote the book’s release.

*link may require registration

[Danne]

I really like to muddle some lime, lemon and grapefruit in a dubble whiskyglas, ad campari, sugarsyrup and crusshed ice.

Very easy, very nice.

[Kent Wang]

What gives Campari such a red color? Is it artificial?

The current issue of Drinks includes a Wondrich-named variation on the Negroni called the Typing Monkey using bianco vermouth instead of rosso. Sipping one now, it is nice and lighter than a Negroni. The red color also comes through more.

[eje]

What gives Campari such a red color? Is it artificial?

←

Campari was originally colored with Cochineal.

I thought I had read somewhere that they no longer color it with that substance, but see my bottle sez, "Colored with Natural Carmine".

Is "Drinks" a magazine?

[slkinsey]

AFAIK, carmine is made from chochineal.

[eje]

AFAIK, carmine is made from chochineal.

←

Yes, that was my point. My bottle, albeit a bit old, is labeled as being colored with "Natural Carmine" (Cochineal) not any other artificial substance.

I'm pretty sure, though, that I had read that they had relatively recently discontinued using real cochineal to color Campari. Could be wrong about that, though.

[jlo mein]

I'm pretty sure, though, that I had read that they had relatively recently discontinued using real cochineal to color Campari.  Could be wrong about that, though.

←

I have no idea how recent my bottling of Campari is (bought it from a local BC Liquor Store last month), but it lists the ingredients as sugar, alcohol, aromatic herbs, and carmine.

[slkinsey]

Did some digging. Seems the "new label" Campari does not contain natural carmine. But one assumes it will take quite some time for the old stock to become scarce in this country.

[eje]

Apparently, there is a real chance of a severe allergic reaction and anaphylactic shock with a certain small subset of the human population when exposed to natural carmine/cochineal.

I assume this informed gruppo campari's decision to remove it from Campari.

Pesky arthropods spoiling all our fun.

[Pierogi]

Did some digging.  Seems the "new label" Campari does not contain natural carmine.  But one assumes it will take quite some time for the old stock to become scarce in this country.

←

Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I actually had wondered tonight when I broke open my latest bottle why the label had changed. Now I guess I know. Unfortunately the old bottle is at the bottom of the recycling bin, so I can't dig it out to compare the ingredient lists.

Edit---all together now---recycling has TWO "c"s......r-e-c-y-l-i-n-g doesn't really spell anything much.

Edited December 9, 2007 by Pierogi (log)

[gethin]

Apparently, there is a real chance of a severe allergic reaction and anaphylactic shock with a certain small subset of the human population when exposed to natural carmine/cochineal.

I assume this informed gruppo campari's decision to remove it from Campari.

Pesky arthropods spoiling all our fun.

←

The UK importer of Nardini's Rabarbero pushes the fact that it does not contain cochineal, unlike Campari, and was therfore a Kosher alternative to Campari. This may have possibly some bearing on Campari's decision to abandon the traditional squashed beetle colouring.

Gethin

[jlo mein]

So if on my bottle it says "carmine" instead of "natural carmine" under the indredients, does it mean it has artificial colouring? Or will the indredients specifically list "artificial colouring"?

[blue_dolphin]

Just tried the Bicyclette that eje linked to above. Very tasty.

So if on my bottle it says "carmine" instead of "natural carmine" under the indredients, does it mean it has artificial colouring?  Or will the indredients specifically list "artificial colouring"?

←

My current bottle (purchased 2-3 months ago) does not list ingredients but "ARTIFICIALLY COLORED" appears below the US Govt warning for alcoholic beverages. Don't know how that compares to CA labeling.

Edited January 6, 2008 by blue_dolphin (log)