Campari Fizz and Americano

Today we are celebrating Campari's 150th Anniversary by drinking two relatively easy drinks to make (and even easier to consume, I assure you).  We're making the Campari Fizz, a really light-on-alcohol cocktail that goes down like a quality fruit punch.  We're also making the Americano, a drink that isn't particularly alcoholic either, and has its own refreshing qualities, similar to a French soda.

Campari Fizz

If you missed yesterday's post, take a moment to read up on Campari's origin and its founder.  Both of the following drinks are found at the Campari website, Campari.com.  It is an excellent resource for all things Campari, and, they have nice short videos of their bartenders making Campari cocktails.

Campari Fizz

1 part Campari
1 part sweetened lemon juice (1 part sugar, 1 part water, 1 part lemon juice)
1 part pineapple juice
A few drops of Angostura bitters
1 part Soda

Shake all the ingredients together except the soda.  Pour into a juice glass with ice.  Round off with one part of soda.

This is an excellent, refreshing, little-alcohol cocktail.  It actually tastes a bit like grapefruit juice. This is more of a punch than anything else.  Did I already mention how little alcohol is in the drink?  Campari is about 25% alcohol, and is only 1/4 of the drinks liquid contents.  Compared to say, a martini, or a manhattan, this is just fruit juice. 

It's still a quality drink, it's just a light one.  This would be a very good drink to make by the pitcher for parties.  If you do though, be sure to add the bitters into the mix just before serving.  Bitters tend to expand their proverbial territory in a cocktail the longer they're given a chance. 

Americano

1 part Campari
1 part Vermouth Rossa
1 part Soda

Build in a double rocks glass over ice.

This is a really interesting cocktail.  The taste contains the classic bitter quality that the Campari name is known for.  It's quite good though because the sweetness from the vermouth and the fizz from the club soda provides an interesting counterbalance to the bitterness.

I think this is an excellent aperitif, something to drink before a meal.  You could easily knock back a few of these too, largely because they're so easy to whip together.  1 part of each of its contents over ice, serve.  Easy peasy.

I hope that you've enjoyed Campari week here at the Amateur Mixologist.  I've certainly enjoyed drinking the Campari cocktails.  Until next week, ciao!