Americano (cocktail)
Encyclopedia
The Americano is a cocktail
composed of Campari
, sweet vermouth, and club soda. The cocktail was first served in creator Gaspare Campari
's bar, Caffè Campari, in the 1860s. It was originally known as the "Milano-Torino" because of its ingredients: Campari
, the bitter liqueur, is from Milan
and Cinzano
, the vermouth, is from Turin
(Torino). In the early 1900s, the Italians noticed a surge of Americans who enjoyed the cocktail. As a compliment to the Americans, the cocktail later became known as the "Americano".
It is the first drink ordered by James Bond
in the first novel in Ian Fleming
's series, Casino Royale
. In the short story "From a View to a Kill" Bond chooses an Americano as an appropriate drink for a mere café; suggesting that "in cafés you have to drink the least offensive of the musical comedy drinks that go with them." Bond always stipulates Perrier, for in his opinion expensive soda water was the cheapest way to improve a poor drink.
Pour over ice into an old fashioned glass
.
for the Sweet Vermouth and garnished it with an orange twist.
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
composed of Campari
Campari
Campari is an alcoholic apéritif obtained from the infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water. It is a bitters characterized by its dark red color....
, sweet vermouth, and club soda. The cocktail was first served in creator Gaspare Campari
Gaspare Campari
Gaspare Campari was an Italian drink maker.Born in Cassolnovo, Lombardy, he was a master drink maker at the Bass Bar in Turin, the major commercial centre for aperitif products, by the age 14. His recipe contained more than 60 natural ingredients including herbs, spices, barks and fruit peels...
's bar, Caffè Campari, in the 1860s. It was originally known as the "Milano-Torino" because of its ingredients: Campari
Campari
Campari is an alcoholic apéritif obtained from the infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water. It is a bitters characterized by its dark red color....
, the bitter liqueur, is from Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Cinzano
Cinzano
Cinzano is an Italian brand of vermouth, a brand owned since 1999 by Gruppo Campari. It comes in four versions:*Cinzano Rosso, which is amber-coloured;*Cinzano Bianco, which is white and drier than Rosso, yet still considered a sweet vermouth;...
, the vermouth, is from Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
(Torino). In the early 1900s, the Italians noticed a surge of Americans who enjoyed the cocktail. As a compliment to the Americans, the cocktail later became known as the "Americano".
It is the first drink ordered by James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
in the first novel in Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's series, Casino Royale
Casino Royale (novel)
Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
. In the short story "From a View to a Kill" Bond chooses an Americano as an appropriate drink for a mere café; suggesting that "in cafés you have to drink the least offensive of the musical comedy drinks that go with them." Bond always stipulates Perrier, for in his opinion expensive soda water was the cheapest way to improve a poor drink.
Standard mix
- 30 ml Sweet VermouthVermouthVermouth is a fortified wine flavored with various dry ingredients. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced around the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Italy and France...
- 30 ml CampariCampariCampari is an alcoholic apéritif obtained from the infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water. It is a bitters characterized by its dark red color....
- Top with club soda
- Garnish: orange slice and lemon peel
Pour over ice into an old fashioned glass
Old fashioned glass
The Old Fashioned glass, lowball glass, or rocks glass is a short tumbler used for serving an alcoholic beverage, such as whisky, with ice cubes...
.
Variations
From 1967 onward Mr. Rodolphe, the bartender at the Georges V Hotel in Paris, substituted Lillet RougeLillet
Lillet is a brand of French aperitif wine. It is a blend of 85% Bordeaux wines and 15% macerated liqueurs, mostly citrus liqueurs from the peels of sweet oranges from Spain and Morocco and the peels of bitter green oranges from Haiti...
for the Sweet Vermouth and garnished it with an orange twist.
See also
- NegroniNegroniThe Negroni cocktail is made of one part gin, one part sweet vermouth, and one part bitters, traditionally Campari. It is considered an apéritif.-History:...
- List of cocktails