Cocktail · Light & sessionable
Americano
Campari, sweet vermouth, soda — the Negroni's lighter, longer ancestor.
How to order it: Tall glass, orange slice. James Bond's actual first drink order, for the record.
Flavor profile
The recipe
- 1½ oz Campari
- 1½ oz sweet vermouth
- Top with soda water
- Build over ice in a highball
- Orange slice
The story
The Americano began life in 1860s Milan as the Milano-Torino, named for the provenance of its halves: Campari from Milan, sweet vermouth from Turin, served at Gaspare Campari's own bar. The soda came later, as did the new name, popularly attributed to the American tourists who took to it, though some point instead to amaro, Italian for bitter. Its quiet claim to fame: it is the first drink James Bond orders in Casino Royale, in 1953, before the Martini got all the press. It endures as the gateway to the bitter Italian canon, and as the Negroni's gentler ancestor, all aperitivo and no ambush.
Adjacent pours