Drunken Diplomacy

Cocktail Recipes & Whisky Reviews

Many bottles of Campari with sign

Nine Campari Cocktails

Campari is the world’s best selling amaro, a class of spirits and liqueurs that originated in Italy. The spirit was invented in 1860 in Novara Italy, over the years Davide Campari and his family built it into an empire. Groupo Campari is now a large, publicly traded spirits company. They own Skyy Vodka and Wild Turkey, to name a few.

But enough about them, let’s talk a bit about the ingredient and how you use it.

Here are nine of our favorite recipes which show off Campari’s versatility. You can mix it with everything from soda water, to rum, to gin to produce delicious drinks.

Campari display at tales of the cocktail

Dante’s Unlikely Negroni

Dante’s from the eponymous bar in NYC. If you like negronis, you need to visit Dante!

Reddish cocktail on white coaster with several people behind

Ingredients

  • 1 oz Blanco Tequilia (Cabeza)
  • .75 oz Campari
  • .75 oz Cocchi Tornio
  • .25 oz Coconut Liquor (Kalani)
  • .25 oz Banana Liqueur (Giffard)
  • 1 Pineapple Drinking Vinegar (Sohm)
  • 1 dropper Thai chili tincture
  • Banana Chip with 2 Drops of Sesame Oil (Garnish)

Pepper Unicorn

The Pepper Unicorn is a spicy, boozy cocktail with a tequila base.

  • .75 oz Hussong’s Tequila
  • .75 oz Batch 206 Old Tom Counter Gin
  • .75 oz Campari
  • .75 oz Dolin Sweet Vermouth
  • .5 oz Ancho Reyes
  • 2 Dashes Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters

Da Vinci Punch

Glass topped with cranberries next to bowl of brown colored liquid
  • .75 cup Bourbon
  • .75 cup Falernum
  • .75 cup Sweet Vermouth
  • .75 cup Campari
  • .25 cup Light Rum (we used Tripp Distillery)
  • 3 cup IPA

Bitter Scotsman

The Bitter Scotsman features a smoky, blended Scotch base.

  • 2 oz Scotch (use Flaming Heart to be extra-out-of-touch)
  • 0.75 oz Orgeat
  • 0.75 oz Lemon Juice
  • 0.5 oz Campari

The Italian Copilot

Grappa, Campari and the cherry-based Maraschino Liqueur combine for this all-Italian, soda-topped cocktail.

  • 1.5 oz Grappa
  • .5 oz Maraschino
  • .75 oz Campari
  • 3 oz Soda Water

Last Call Cocktail

The lightly peated Bunnahabhain single-malt is the base of this drink. Early Gray Syrup adds a bergamot backsplash.

Cocktail on top of plate next to magazine
  • 1.5 oz Bunnahabhain
  • .75 oz Campari
  • .5 oz Ruby Port
  • .25 oz Earl Grey Syrup

Laphroaig-Groni

Laphroaig, check. Oloroso Sherry, check. Averna Amaro, Campari, check check. Terrible cocktail name. Big check. This drink has a big punch of salt and smoke.

Laphroaigroni
  • 1 oz Laphroaig 10
  • 1 oz Oloroso cruz del mar
  • 1 oz Averna amaro
  • 1/2 oz Campari

New Best Friend

We originally made this drink for the #homebarawards challenge to make a drink featuring single malt scotch. This is a riff on the Old Pal cocktail.

  • .75 oz Sherried Speyside Whisky (Glen Moray Blackadder)
  • .75 oz Peated Islay Whisky (Laphroaig 10)
  • 1 oz Dry Vermouth (Dolin)
  • 1 oz Campari
  • .25 oz Orgeat
  • .25 oz Oloroso Sherry

Deadpan Fix

Ginger syrup is in a ton of Death and Co’s cocktails, so we’ll occasionally mix up a big batch of the stuff. This drink combines ginger syrup with Rye, Campari, Grand Mariner, grapefruit and lemon juice. Bit lower proof than most of the drinks on this list, but it still packs a punch.

Deadpan Fix Cocktail
  • 1.5 oz Rye
  • 0.25 oz Campari
  • 0.25 oz Grand Marnier
  • 0.75 oz grapefruit juice
  • 0.5 oz lemon juice
  • 0.25 oz ginger syrup