Campari

When one hears the name Campari, the first thing that comes to mind is vibrant red bitter liqueur – and of course, that’s the right association!

Campari

Campari is Italian bitter liqueur, hailing from Milano. Together with Angostura bitters, it’s probably the best known bitter in the world! Yet, it falls into it’s own “category”, since it’s an aperitif on it’s own. One should not add only drops of it in cocktails, as it’s done with Angostura, but quite often a more generous measures.

Created in 1860s, it’s probably one of the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks about liqueurs coming from Italy. Italian café-owner from town of Novara, near Milan, Gaspare Campari created a formula which uses more than 60 herbs and plants. The formula is, of course, well-guarded secret, but it is known that it uses bitter orange peel, rhubarb, ginseng, quinine and a lots of other aromatic herbs and plants. These are all combined and macerated for two weeks in a blend of distilled water and alcohol. Afterwards the mixture is sweetened and then the cochineal dye is added to give it it’s distinctive vibrant red color. At the end of the  process, the alcohol level is adjusted to 24% alcohol per volume.

Interesting fact is that this spirit was not initially named Campari, but Bitter all’uso d’Hollandia (which means “Bitter as used in Holland”) instead. Gaspare’s intention was to use great popularity of Dutch cordials in Italy, and he succeded – liqueur soon became very popular among Milanese customers. With help of Gaspare’s son, Davide Campari, and his marketing strategies, drink eventually became popular all over the world, turning into the massive global brand and leading to creation of the Campari Group, which now owns Cinzano, Ouzo 12 and Skyy Vodka, among other popular brands.

Because of it being aperitif, it’s best enjoyed on the rocks, before dinner. That is, if you enjoy really bitter flavors. Instead, try it out as it’s commonly drunk for many decades – mixed with soda water. This way of drinking is so popular, even since the invention of the Campari drink, that Davide Campari started bottling this mix pre-made in 1932, naming it CampariSoda. Another interesting and refreshing way to drink Campari is mixed with orange juice.