Campari Soda
Campari and soda over ice with a slice of orange. Italy's pre-dinner drink since the 1930s, when it was sold ready-mixed in a bottle designed by a Futurist.
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.
Fill a highball or rocks glass with ice.
Add the Campari.
Top with cold soda water and stir once.
Garnish with an orange slice.
A thoughtful finish
- The ratio is yours: one to two Campari to soda is a strong, bitter drink; one to three is the Italian bar standard; one to four is a long, light one.
- A squeeze of the orange slice before it goes in softens the bitterness.
- Serve it very cold. Warm Campari and soda is medicine.
Common mistakes
- Tonic instead of soda. Campari and tonic is a fine drink but is sweeter and bitterer, and not this.
- Too little ice. The dilution is part of the balance.
- Lemon instead of orange. Orange is the Campari fruit.
A few good questions.
What does Campari and soda taste like?
Bitter orange and herbs, lightly sweet, fizzy and cold. It is an acquired taste that most people acquire quickly.
How strong is it?
Around 7% ABV at one to three — about the strength of a beer. Campari is 24% and the soda does most of the work.
What is the pre-mixed Campari Soda?
A 10cl bottle of Campari already cut with soda, sold in Italy since 1932 in a cone-shaped bottle. It is around 10% ABV and drunk straight from the bottle or over ice.
Can I add gin?
Then it is a Negroni Sbagliato's cousin — Campari, gin and soda is sometimes called a Campari Fizz, and it is excellent.
Variations
- Americano — Campari, sweet vermouth and soda.
- Negroni — Gin, Campari and sweet vermouth.
- Garibaldi — Campari and fresh orange juice.
- Aperol Spritz — Aperol, prosecco and soda.
Where it comes from
1932 · Milan · Davide Campari
Campari and soda was an aperitivo order long before 1932, but that year Davide Campari — son of Gaspare, who invented the bitter in 1860 — launched Campari Soda, the world’s first pre-mixed single-serve cocktail, in a conical bottle designed by the Futurist artist Fortunato Depero. The bottle, unchanged since, made the drink a fixture of every Italian bar, and it remains the simplest statement of the aperitivo idea: bitter, cold, fizzy, light, and drunk before dinner to open the appetite. The home version, Campari and soda over ice with orange, is the same drink at the strength you choose.
Sources
- Campari Group, Campari Soda history, 1932 (archive)
- Gary Regan, The Negroni, 2015 (book)
- Difford's Guide, Campari Soda, 2015 (reference)
Strength. About 0.6 US standard drinks at an estimated 5.7% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
A keeper?
Save this drink for your next cocktail hour.
Saved in this browser.The next great drink
might already be on your shelf.
Choose your bottles and mixers. Discover what you can make.