Campari () is an Italian alcoholic

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyon ...

, considered an apéritif (20.5%, 21%, 24%, 25%, or 28.5%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

, depending on the country where it is sold), obtained from the infusion of

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

s and fruit (including chinotto and cascarilla) in alcohol and water. It is a type of

bitters Bitters (plural also ''bitters'') is traditionally an alcoholic preparation flavored with botanical matter for a bitter or bittersweet flavor. Originally, numerous longstanding brands of bitters were developed as patent medicines, but now ar ...

, characterised by its dark red colour.

Use

Campari is often used in

cocktail A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely acr ...

s and is commonly served with soda water or

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

juice (most often

pink grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit i ...

juice), often garnished with either

blood orange The blood orange is a variety of orange ( ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'') (also referred to as raspberry orange) with crimson, almost blood-colored flesh. The distinctive dark flesh color is due to the presence of anthocyanins, a family of polyp ...

blood lime Blood limes (or 'Australian Blood Lime') are a hybrid citrus fruit developed by the CSIRO project to investigate salt-resistant crops. While the limes proved suitable for high-salt conditions, they have seen no commercial development; the first ...

slice (mainly in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

) or mixed with

prosecco Prosecco (; Italian: ) is an Italian DOC or DOCG white wine produced in a large area spanning nine provinces in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, and named after the village of Prosecco which is in the province of Trieste, It ...

as a

spritz Spritz may refer to: * Hair spray * Spritz (cocktail), an aperitif consisting of wine, sparkling water, and liqueur * Spritz (wine), a term referring to small amounts of carbon dioxide added to wine * Spritz (cipher), a cryptographic stream cip ...

. It is produced by the Davide

Campari Group Davide Campari-Milano N.V., trading as Campari Group, is an Italian company active since 1860 in the branded beverage industry. It produces spirits, wines, and non-alcoholic apéritifs. From its signature product, Campari, its portfolio has been ...

, a multinational company based in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Campari is an essential ingredient in the classic

Negroni A Negroni is an Italian cocktail, made of one part gin, one part vermouth rosso (red, semi-sweet) and one part Campari, garnished with orange peel. It is considered an apéritif. A traditionally made Negroni is stirred, not shaken; it is buil ...

cocktail, the Garibaldi, the Americano (which was named at a time when few Americans were aware of Campari), and the

(an aperitif popular in northern Italy). In the Italian market, Campari mixed with soda water is sold in individual bottles as

Campari Soda Campari Soda is a pre-mixed drink made by Campari for the Italian market. Campari Soda is Campari mixed with soda water (10% alcohol by volume). The distinctive bottle was designed by Fortunato Depero Fortunato Depero (30 March 1892 – 29 N ...

(10% alcohol by volume). Campari Soda is packaged in a distinctive bottle that was designed by Fortunato Depero in 1932.

History

Campari was invented in 1860 by

Gaspare Campari Gaspare Campari (1828–1882) was an Italian drinks manufacturer. Born in Cassolnovo, Lombardy,Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

. It was originally coloured with

carmine Carmine ()also called cochineal (when it is extracted from the cochineal insect), cochineal extract, crimson lake, or carmine lake is a pigment of a bright-red color obtained from the aluminium complex derived from carminic acid. Specific code ...

dye, derived from crushed cochineal insects, which gave the drink its distinctive red colour. Campari Group discontinued the use of carmine in 2006. In 1904, Campari's first production plant was opened in

Sesto San Giovanni Sesto San Giovanni (; lmo, Sest San Giovann, label=Western Lombard ), locally referred to as just Sesto ( lmo, Sest, links=no), is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. Its railway station is the northernmost st ...

, near

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, Italy. Under the direction of Davide Campari, Gaspare's son, the company began to export the beverage, first to

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

in the heart of the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from ...

, then overseas. The Campari brand is now distributed in over 190 countries. Campari is a registered trademark of Davide Campari Milano S.P.A., which is part of Gruppo Campari (Campari Group).

Awards

Wine Enthusiast ''Wine Enthusiast'' magazine is an American wine magazine published by Wine Enthusiast Companies in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1979 by Adam and Sybil Strum, Wine Enthusiast Companies engages in the wine accessories, storage, information, educ ...

'' has reviewed Campari on a number of occasions, giving it a score of "85-89/100" in 2007.

References

External links

*
"Campari: the Italian classic that still has style"
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

''
Chapter 9: "Campari: product diversification and international expansion"
''Corporate Strategy and Firm Growth: Creating Value for Shareholders'', by Angelo Dringoli
The Art of Campari
{{Alcoholic beverages Campari Group Bitters Italian liqueurs Products introduced in 1860 Italian brands

Use

History

Awards

See also

References

External links