Campari Sour
Campari, lemon, sugar and egg white, dry-shaken. The bitter aperitivo made into a sour — pink, silky and bracing, and the lowest-proof sour worth the name.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Add the Campari, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white to a shaker.
Dry shake without ice for 10 seconds to build the foam.
Add ice and shake hard for another 12 seconds.
Double strain into a chilled coupe and express an orange peel over the foam.
A thoughtful finish
- Dry shake first, then with ice; the foam is the texture of the drink.
- Taste for sugar — Campari is sweet already and some lemons are sharper than others.
- A few drops of Angostura on the foam, dragged with a straw, is the bar finish.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the egg white, which leaves it thin and harsh.
- Too much syrup; this is not a whiskey sour.
- Serving it over ice, which drowns the foam.
A few good questions.
What does a Campari Sour taste like?
Bitter orange and lemon over a silky foam — sharp, pink and refreshing with a long bitter finish.
How strong is it?
Around 7% to 8% in the glass once shaken; Campari is 24% to begin with and more than half the drink is lemon, syrup and egg white.
Can I use Aperol?
Yes — sweeter, lighter and less bitter. Reduce the syrup.
Vegan version?
An ounce of aquafaba in place of the egg white foams almost as well.
Variations
- Aperol Sour — Aperol in place of the Campari.
- Garibaldi — Campari and fluffy orange juice.
- Jasmine — Gin, Campari, orange liqueur and lemon.
- Campari Soda — Campari and soda, the aperitivo.
Where it comes from
c. 2000s · Italy
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
Campari with lemon and sugar is an old Italian idea — the Garibaldi uses orange, and Campari with lemon soda is a bar standard — but the Campari Sour as a shaken egg-white sour belongs to the 2000s aperitivo revival, when bartenders began treating the bitter as a base spirit rather than a modifier. Campari’s 24% strength and its sugar mean the sour needs less sweetener than a whiskey version, and the egg white tames the bitterness into something soft and pink. It has become a standard of the modern Italian bar and a go-to low-alcohol sour everywhere, usually with an orange twist or a few drops of bitters on the foam.
Sources
- Campari Group, recipe archive, current (producer)
- Difford's Guide, Campari Sour, 2016 (reference)
- Simon Difford, Diffordsguide Cocktails, 2012 (book)
Strength. About 0.6 US standard drinks at an estimated 7.2% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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