Americano Cocktail | A Classic Campari Cocktail with 3 Ingredients

If you’ve tried Campari cocktails in the past and they haven’t been for you, I challenge you to try the Americano cocktail. The Americano is a softer introduction to the bitter taste of Campari. In my most recent Campari cocktail recipe, I mentioned that I was not a fan of Negronis. Shocking, considering I love both gin & bitter stuff. When I first heard of an Americano, I assumed I wouldn’t like it either. After all, two-thirds of the ingredients are the same. The Americano just switches out gin for club soda. I didn’t think it would make much of a difference.

But it does. Since such a large percentage of this cocktail is club soda, i.e. water, it really tempers the strong bitter profile of Campari. The bubbles in the soda also make it more palatable for someone like me. This drink, along with the Gin Campari Sour, is going to help me train my tastebuds to like Campari.

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It’s like when I was in high school and I wanted to like coffee. Growing up, my parents didn’t drink coffee so I really had no exposure to it. I remember being excited to finally try some and was sorely disappointed by my first sip. But I was determined to develop a taste for the stuff. I strategically ordered all the java chip frappés at my local coffee shop (shout out to Jitters) until I could eventually tolerate, then appreciate, the taste of coffee.

While we’re talking about coffee and Campari, now’s the perfect time to point out the fact that there are two Americanos in the drink world: the coffee version and the cocktail version. They taste nothing alike, besides the fact that they’re both bitter and not sweet. An Americano coffee is espresso with additional hot water added to dilute the strong flavor. An Americano cocktail is Campari diluted with soda water to tone it down. Ah. I guess that’s a sign that us Americans like our bitter drinks less intense.

Now, if you already love Campari, then you’ll enjoy an Americano. It’s light and refreshing, the perfect pre-dinner cocktail, known as an apéritif (or aperitivo). Traditionally, apéritifs are cocktails enjoyed before dinner to open the palate in preparation for the meal. The word apéritif actually originates from the Latin verb “aperire” which means ‘to open’. They’re typically dry, bitter drinks with low alcohol content. Vermouth, dry white wines, Americanos and Aperol Spritzes are common apéritifs. This fun post goes into more detail about the culture of drinking aperitivos in Italy.

I feel like now is also an important time to quickly note a difference between all the carbonated waters. Here’s a quick show down of all the bubble h20:

• Club soda is infused with carbon and minerals like salt (my HEB brand has sea salt–fancy)
• Seltzer usually does not contain any minerals
• Sparkling mineral water is typically naturally carbonated and has naturally-present minerals
• Sparkling water is carbonated water and can be flavored and sometimes sweetened
• Tonic water is carbonated water with minerals and also quinine, a bitter essence derived from the chichona tree & used to treat things like malaria and leg cramps

The first four taste pretty similar and can honestly be used interchangeably in cocktail recipes without much a problem. Tonic water has a very distinct taste and shouldn’t be used in place of another type of sparkling water– unless you know you like the taste of tonic. Just be warned it may not jive with the rest of the drink’s flavors.

If you’ve been looking for a Campari cocktail to win you over, look no further.

The Ingredients for an Americano Cocktail

• 1 – 1 1/2 oz Campari
• 1 – 1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
• club soda

How to Make an Americano Cocktail

Fill a Collins glass or highball glass with ice. Pour in the Campari and vermouth. Fill the rest of the glass with club soda. Stir with a straw or bar spoon. Sip and feel so European.