Campari

Appearance: Bright cochineal red. No particulates. Aroma: Orange peel, grapefruit peel, bouquet garni. Dusty herb drawer. Flavour and Texture: Intitally sweet then turning mildly bitter with chinotto orange, grapefruit skin and pith, cinchona bark and bitter aloes. There is an earthy, peppery lift at the end of the palate and the texture is full but drying. Gentian and petit wormwood are both detectable in the aftertaste. Amazing, over 900 reviews and I’ve never rated Campari. How remiss of me. Campari is an iconic drink ingredient and a benchmark for bitters. Even if it is not your favourite bitter aperitivo I bet you still use it as a comparison point for the one you do favour. It’s that classic. The palate carries more bitterness than you may think at first – taste it neat and wait a few minutes and you’ll see what I mean. The flavour develops with time and there is a signature dusty quality to both the nose and palate that intensifies when it is diluted (it's this dusty herbaceous note that teams so well with whisky). It has limitless uses in cocktails but it is in combination with bourbon or rye where this aparitivo truly sings. Something about the pairing of sweet whiskey and bitters just works. It’s like the pairing of gin and tonic – a drink for the ages. It’s actually not my favourite aparitivo (Cappalletti earns that award) but it is a very good one. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)