🥃 Campari

Campari is the vivid red Italian bitter behind the Negroni. Its producer calls it the Italian Red Spirit, and according to the brand Gaspare Campari invented it in Milan in 1860 and the liquid has not been altered since. ¹ Today it belongs to Campari Group and makes up about 11% of the group's sales. ¹²

What it tastes like. The producer describes Campari as brilliantly clear and vivid red, with a complex herbal, orange and floral aroma; on the palate it is pleasantly bitter with a velvety aftertaste and intense notes of orange, herbs and wood. ¹¹ The recipe is not disclosed: the brand's master blender says that removing even the last ingredient would make the whole liquid fall apart. ¹¹

Born in Milan. In 1867 Gaspare Campari moved his business to the newly built Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and opened Caffè Campari there; his son Davide was born the same year. In 1904 production moved to a plant in Sesto San Giovanni, today the group's headquarters, and in 1915 Davide opened the Camparino bar in the Galleria, which according to the brand created the Milanese aperitivo ritual. ¹

Where it is made today. A 2004 press release announced that from 2005 Campari and Campari Soda would be produced at a new plant in Novi Ligure, Piedmont. ² In 2024 the group said that this plant also makes Aperol, Campari Soda, Crodino and Cinzano. ³ Aperol, created in 1919 by the Barbieri brothers, is a different aperitif of the same group. ⁴

In the glass. Campari is a set ingredient in three classic International Bartenders Association cocktails: the Negroni with gin and sweet red vermouth, the Americano with vermouth and soda, and the Boulevardier with bourbon or rye. ⁵⁶⁷ The brand dates the Negroni to 1919 and names Camillo Negroni as its creator. ¹ In the Drinks International 2026 ranking of classic cocktails at the world's best bars the Negroni is first, the Americano 15th and the Boulevardier 18th. ¹²

Art and advertising. Around 1920 Leonetto Cappiello drew the Spiritello wrapped in orange peel, Fortunato Depero designed futurist posters, and in 1960 Bruno Munari made a poster for Milan's first metro line. ¹ Federico Fellini shot his first commercial for Campari in 1984, the Campari calendar started in 2001, and since 2010 artists have designed special labels every year. ¹

The family. Campari Soda, created in 1932, is a separate ready-to-drink aperitif at 10% vol. in a bottle designed by Depero. ⁹ The producer also lists Campari Cask Tales and a ready-made Campari Negroni, and says that Campari was the best-selling brand in the liqueurs category of the Drinks International 2024 report. ¹¹

What the law says. In the EU, Campari belongs to the bitter-tasting spirit drinks: a predominantly bitter taste and at least 15% vol. ¹⁰ Its cocktail partner vermouth is a different product, an aromatised wine with added alcohol whose taste comes from Artemisia species. ¹³

Why it matters to you. Campari, Campari Soda and the ready-made cocktails differ in strength, so read the label of the bottle in your hand. ⁹¹¹ An aperitif is not a remedy: in the EU, health claims are banned on drinks above 1.2% vol. ¹⁴ The WHO stresses that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. ⁸