🥃 Americano
Americano is a cocktail of 30 ml Campari, 30 ml sweet red vermouth and a splash of soda water, built in an old fashioned glass over ice; the IBA lists it in The Unforgettables.
Americano is a cocktail of Campari, sweet red vermouth and soda water, built directly in an old fashioned glass over ice. It is a long, bittersweet aperitif-style drink, and the International Bartenders Association (IBA) lists it among its official cocktails in the category “The Unforgettables”.
Ingredients. The IBA recipe calls for 30 ml Bitter Campari, 30 ml sweet red vermouth and a splash of soda water. Campari is a red bitter and sweet red vermouth is an aromatised fortified wine; together they give the drink its bittersweet character.
Method. Mix the ingredients directly in an old fashioned glass filled with ice cubes. Add a splash of soda water and stir gently.
Glass and garnish. Old fashioned glass filled with ice cubes; garnish with half an orange slice and a lemon zest.
Strength. The IBA page gives no alcohol figure, so the strength depends on the brands used and on how much soda is added. Campari and vermouth both contain alcohol, and the soda only dilutes the drink.
Why it matters to you: the recipe has three components and no shaking, so it is easy to repeat at home exactly as the IBA describes it. The WHO states that no level of alcohol consumption is safe for health.
Facts
| Raw material | Campari, sweet red vermouth, soda water; orange slice, lemon zest 1 |
|---|
How it connects to Spirits
🥃 Americano → kind of → 🌿 Bitters and bitter spirits → kind of → 🥃 Spirits
Links
- Made from
- 🥃 Campari, 🍷 Sweet red vermouth
- What it affects
- 🍷 Alcohol and health, 🍷 Drunk driving
- Related to
- 🥃 Aperitif
- Images and sayings
- 🥃 Bartender
- Traditions
- 🧑🤝🧑 Italians
- Part of
- 🌿 Bitters and bitter spirits
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Americano (aromatised wine), 🥃 Campari Soda, 🥃 Campari Negroni, 🍷 Spritz, 🥃 Boulevardier, 🥃 Garibaldi
Frequently asked questions
What is in an Americano cocktail according to the IBA?
30 ml Bitter Campari, 30 ml sweet red vermouth and a splash of soda water.
How do you make and serve an Americano?
Build it in an old fashioned glass filled with ice cubes, add a splash of soda water, stir gently and garnish with half an orange slice and a lemon zest.
Which IBA category is the Americano in?
The Unforgettables.
Is the Americano alcoholic, and how strong is it?
Yes: Campari and sweet red vermouth both contain alcohol, and the soda only dilutes the drink. The IBA page gives no alcohol figure, so the strength depends on the brands and the soda.
What garnish does an Americano have?
Half an orange slice and a lemon zest.
What to read next
- 🍷 Alcohol and health — Alcohol in any drink is harmful in large amounts, and the risks grow with the quantity.
- 🧑🤝🧑 Italians — The people of Italy; their cuisine rests on wine, olive oil and cheese, and in 2025 the country made 44.4 million hectolitres of wine, the most in the world.
- 🥃 Aperitif — An aperitif is a light dry or bittersweet drink taken before a meal: vermouth, dry sherry, red bitters, or a Spritz or Negroni. From Latin aperire, “to open”. A custom rather than an EU category.
- 🥃 Campari Negroni — A ready-to-drink Negroni from Campari: Campari, sweet red vermouth and dry gin in equal parts, 26% ABV; pour over ice and add an orange slice.
- 🥃 Bartender — A bartender (barman) mixes and serves drinks behind the bar; Jerry Thomas described the craft in a book in 1862, and the International Bartenders Association has united bartenders since 1951.
Similar
🥃 Garibaldi · 🍰 Panettone · 🍝 Carbonara · 🥃 Boulevardier · 🥃 Martinez · 🥃 Jungle Bird
Sources
- IBA — International Bartenders Association: Americano (The Unforgettables; 30 ml Bitter Campari, 30 ml Sweet Red Vermouth, splash of Soda Water; old fashioned glass; half orange slice, lemon zest)
- WHO/Europe: No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health (04.01.2023)