Americano Cocktail Recipe
Campari and sweet vermouth lengthened with soda — bitter, gentle and the perfect low-strength aperitivo.
- Category: The Unforgettables
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 10%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Campari30 ml (1 oz)
- Sweet red vermouth30 ml (1 oz)
- Soda water60 ml (2 oz)
How to Make It
- Fill a highball glass with ice.
- Pour in the Campari and sweet vermouth.
- Top with a splash of soda water and stir briefly.
- Garnish with a half orange slice and a lemon twist.
Garnish
Half orange slice and a lemon twist
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone and it is low in alcohol.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Campari
- The red Italian bitter, with a bitterness that is unmistakable. Aperol can replace it, but Aperol is half the strength and clearly sweeter, so the drink comes out softer.
- Sweet red vermouth
- Once opened it lives IN THE FRIDGE and should be finished within a month; a bottle left at room temperature oxidises in a few weeks and sours the drink.
- Soda water
- Plain carbonated water. It goes in LAST and nothing is stirred after it. An open bottle goes flat fast, so small bottles make more sense than big ones.
The Story
An Italian aperitivo born from the Milano-Torino, said to have been renamed after the American drinkers who favoured it; adding gin instead of soda gives the Negroni.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Americano mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a highball glass.
- How strong is a Americano?
- Roughly 10% ABV as served — lighter than a beer — a long-conversation drink that takes a second round.
- Can a Americano be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Americano hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.