14 Sep Americano Cocktail Recipe

Americano Cocktail Recipe

As so many things do, our week at the end of August immersed in spritzers (here, here, here, here, & here) made us think of the Negroni.

According to legend, the Negroni’s parent was a spritzer, the Americano. The Americano is a bit fancier than the usual spritzer. It has three ingredients, and none of them is wine; instead it uses a fortified wine and a liqueur. The Americano was a favorite of Count Camillo Negroni. As the story goes (and I have to warn you that these stories are usually not true, but since it’s a fun one we’ll allow it), one day Count Negroni wanted something a bit stiffer than his usual; so he said to the bartender, ‘Could you hold the water, and replace it with gin?’ Thus, the Negroni was born (maybe).

While very glad that the Negroni came to be, as we try to embrace the spritzer side of ourselves and hold onto the last strands of summer, we felt it was high time to give its predecessor the Americano a try. It’s good, kind of like the most refreshing slap in the face imaginable.

By the way, we tried this first with Gran Classico instead of Campari. It was good, but not right. I guess we’re fans of artificial coloring.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Campari (or other orange liqueur. It’ll be good, but not the same)
• 1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth–we like Dolin or Boissiere
• 2 oz seltzer
• orange wheel, for garnish

Instructions

• Combine the Campari and vermouth on the bottom of an old fashioned glass.
• Fill with ice.
• Add seltzer.
• Garnish with orange.