Wine & Liqueuramaro-bitters

Campari (Aperitivo Amaro)

Gaspare Campari created the recipe in Novara, Italy, 1860, and opened the Caffè Campari in Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in 1867. The American bar culture adopted Campari via Italian immigration and the transatlantic cocktail exchange. The Negroni's origin is disputed (Count Camillo Negroni allegedly ordered it at Caffè Casoni in Florence circa 1919), but Campari's role is undisputed.

Flavor Profile

Bitter-Medicinal and Citrus-Bright simultaneously. Bitter orange, cherry, herbaceous background. The calibration point for all amari — the 'five' on a bitterness scale of 0–10. Bitter enough to make the mouth pucker, sweet enough to keep drinking. Campari is the Negroni.

Key Producers

Standard

Campari

24–25% ABV; no true substitute; Contratto Bitter is most faithful competitor

Italy: classified as bitters; produced by Gruppo Campari (Milan); 24–25% ABV; formula proprietary since Gaspare Campari created it in Novara, Italy, 1860; the flavor standard against which all amari are measured