Americano
The Americano is a cocktail which is served with Campari, sweet vermouth, and club soda. The cocktail was first served in creator Gaspare Campari’s bar, Caffè Campari, in the 1860s. It was originally known as the “Milano-Torino” because of its ingredients: Campari, the bitter liqueur, is from Milan and Cinzano sweet vermouth, the vermouth, is from Turin (Torino). In the early 1900s, the Italians noticed a surge of Americans who enjoyed the cocktail. As a compliment to the Americans, the cocktail later became known as the “Americano”.
The Americano is a gentle introduction to the unusual, bitter taste of Campari. This cocktail with it’s acquired taste was also the first cocktail ordered by James Bond in the first novel Casino Royale.
Ingredients:
- 1 oz Campari
- 1 oz sweet vermouth
- club soda (bond suggests Perrier, but it doesn’t matter too much)
- lemon twist or orange slice for garnish
Preparation:
- Fill an old-fashioned glass with ice cubes.
- Build with the Campari and vermouth.
- Top off with club soda.
- Garnish with the lemon twist or orange slice.
(Switch to a highball glass and add more club soda for a tall thirst quencher.)
The Americano is a thinking man’s beverage. You’re not going to obliterate yourself drinking these, but while your Jack Daniels-swilling buddies get maudlin and repetitive as the night drags on, ladies will notice that not only are you ordering something alluringly European, but you are also keeping your wits about you. Bond would approve.
Negroni
The Negroni cocktail is made of one part gin, one part sweet (red) vermouth, and one part bitters, traditionally Campari. It is considered an apéritif.
While the drink’s origins are unknown, the most widely reported account is that it was invented in Florence, Italy in 1919, at Caffè Casoni, ex Caffè Giacosa, now called Caffè Cavalli. Count Camillo Negroni invented it by asking the bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to strengthen his favorite cocktail, the Americano, by adding gin rather than the normal soda water. The bartender also added an orange garnish rather than the typical lemon garnish of the Americano to signify that it was a different drink. After the success of the cocktail, the Negroni Family founded Negroni Distillerie in Treviso, Italy, and produced a ready-made version of the drink, sold as Antico Negroni 1919. One of the earliest reports of the drink came from Orson Welles in correspondence with the Coshocton Tribune while working in Rome on Cagliostro in 1947, where he described a new drink called the Negroni, “The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.”
Variations
As with the Martini cocktail, the trend in recent years has been to use a larger proportion of gin, mainly because the quality of the spirit is a lot better than it used to be, meaning there is less need to dilute the gin to make it more palatable. Most bars today will serve the drink with double the quantity of gin.
The ‘Negroni sbagliato’ (“wrong Negroni” in Italian) uses sparkling wine (e.g., prosecco) instead of gin. ‘Negroski’ is a recipe with vodka again as substitute for gin. A “Raultini” is a variation using Aperol instead of Campari, giving its distinctive orange color, lighter alcohol content, and a bit of sweetness.
The Negroni can also be shaken and served in a cocktail glass with a lemon twist.
Ingredients:
- 1 oz sweet vermouth
- 1 oz Campari
- 1 oz gin
- orange slice or twist for garnish
Preparation: Stir all ingredients together and garnish
