Quaran-tini
Today we are going to look at three classic cocktails, all related by one ingredient: the Americano (the cocktail, not the espresso drink), the Negroni, and the Boulevardier (pronounced like a combination of boulevard and Bouvier). As I have been stuck inside, and apparently will be for the foreseeable future, now seems like a great time to research and sample all three—you know…for science…or history…or something….
Each drink is a mixture of Campari (a bitters-style aperitif made from a secret infusion of herbs and fruits, and characterized by its bright red color), sweet vermouth (a fortified wine-based aperitif flavored with a variety of botanicals), and a third liquid. It is the third liquid that distinguishes one drink from the other. Each cocktail combines their three liquids and stirs over ice. Do not let me catch you shaking them. This will dilute the alcohol faster and lead to a weaker drink.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves, I will start at the beginning with Gaspare Campari. Campari was the son of a farmer born in Lombardy, Italy. He began working in bars at a young age, so young that by 14, he was mixing drinks at Bass Bar in Castelnuovo. Here, he gained knowledge of people's drinking habits and tastes, an insight he used to start formulating his own liquors. By the 1840s Campari was selling a bitters aperitif called Bitter All’Uso d’Holanda. It sold well, and over the years Campari perfected the formulation into the bright red herby beverage we know today as Campari.
In the 1860 Campari opened his own bar in Milan called Caffè Campari and began offering a variety of cocktails featuring a variety of his liquors.
The Americano
Campari Initially began serving a strong drink called the Milano-Torino (or Mi-To), comprised of equal parts Campari (from Milan) and vermouth (from Torin) in his café. The simple addition of soda water and a lemon garnish turned this into the classic Americano we know today. The cocktail became incredibly popular with American tourists in the 20th century who flocked to Europe during Prohibition. This popularity led Campari to rename the cocktail after them.
Despite his preference for a Vesper Martini, the Americano is actually the first cocktail mentioned in a James Bond novel. In Casino Royale, Bond orders an Americano, and in the short story "A View to Kill," Bond is said to order them frequently:
One cannot drink seriously in French cafés. Out of doors on a pavement in the sun is no place for vodka or whisky or gin. A fine à l’eau is fairly serious, but it intoxicates without tasting very good. A quart de champagne or a champagne à l’orange is all right before luncheon, but in the evening one quart leads to another quart and a bottle of indifferent champagne is a bad foundation for the night. Pernod is possible, but it should be drunk in company, and anyway Bond had never liked the stuff because its licorice taste reminded him of his childhood. No, in cafés you have to drink the least offensive of the musical comedy drinks that go with them, and Bond always had the same thing—an Americano—Bitter Campari, Cinzano [vermouth], a large slice of lemon peel and soda.
Despite his frequency of ordering, Bond was none too kind to this “musical comedy drink.” He always “stipulated Perrier, for in his opinion expensive soda water was the cheapest way to improve a poor drink.”
Campari, San Pellegrino, Wigle Whiskey “cocktail Mixer No.1” AKA Wigle’s take on sweet vermouth. (Also pictured, my husband’s MINI.)
The Americano Recipe:
1 oz vermouth
1 oz Campari
Club soda
Lemon slice, for garnish
Pour your vermouth and Campari into a highball glass filled with ice, top off with club soda, and garnish with an orange or lemon peel.
Negroni
In food history, tracing the exact invention of a cocktail can be difficult. The Negroni, as a relatively modern invention, is no exception with competing families, both taking credit for its creation. Popular legend goes that the Negroni was concocted in 1919 at Caffe Casoni. A Count by the name of Camillo Negroni asked the bartender, Fosco Scarselli to make him an Americano, but with a twist. Instead of topping it with soda water, he asked that it be mixed with gin, making for a more potent drink. The bartender complied and garnished it with an orange instead of a lemon to distinguish it from the Americano.
Who was Count Negroni? Camilo Luigi Manfredo Maria Negroni was born in 1868 to Count Enrico Girolamo Maria Negroni and Julia Ada Bishop Savage Landor. Both of his parents were in part British, and it is thought he developed a taste for gin during his time in England. In Sulle Tracce Del Conte: la vera storia del cocktail “negroni," Luca Picchi discusses Camilo Negroni's life and the invention of the cocktail.
Simple enough, except there was another….
Pascal Olivier Count de Negroni was a noted French general born in 1829. His family claims that it was he that invented the Negroni, going so far to discredit other claims as to assert count Camillo Negroni never existed. Although, as Drinkingcup.net states, "I can now reveal with confidence that Count Camillo Negroni did indeed exist. With little more than a 5-minute search via online genealogy platform Ancestry.com, you can view and download a basic family tree, passenger list, and business directory under the name ‘Camillo Negroni’. Moreover, his title as a Count is also recorded.”
Pascal Negroni died in 1913, 6 years before the Negroni is believed to have been invented.
All this drama aside, the Negroni took off and has become an incredibly popular beverage. Its fans include Ernest Hemingway, Anthony Bourdain, and Stanley Tucci. Orson Welles summed up his admiration for the drink this way: “The bitters are excellent for your liver. The gin is bad for you. They balance each other.”
Campari, Wigle Dutch Style Gin, Wigle “Cocktail Mixer No.1” AKA vermouth
Recipe
1 oz gin
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 oz Campari
orange peel, for garnish (NOT a lemon)
Combine all ingredients in a glass over ice, and stir. Garnish with orange peel.
Note: The Negroni is traditionally made with equal parts gin, vermouth, and Campari. However, as Stanly Tucci shows in the link above, you can play with the variations adding more or less of one ingredient. If you aren’t a fan of gin you can sub vodka, turning it into a Negroski, or whiskey turning it into a…
Boulevardier
Typically made with rye or bourbon whiskey, the Boulevardier is the Americanized bastard offspring of the Negroni. The Boulevardier was invented by Erskine Gwynne, an American expat in France during the 1920s who published a literary magazine of the same name. A member of the Vanderbilt family, Gwynne was a socialite who loved the freedom to drink in France, a luxury not available in the US at the time due to prohibition.
During prohibition, Americans found themselves suddenly without the comforts of their local bars. Left with illegally drinking in the US, or moving abroad, many Americans headed overseas to get their fix. Tod Sloan went so far as to move an entire mahogany bar piece by piece to Paris and hired Scottish bartender Harry MacElhone to run the place. Eventually, Harry took over the bar and renamed it Harry’s New York Bar. The bar served primarily American expects and tourists desperate for a drink. It is here that Harry and Erskine met, and made history with the Boulevardier. The drink became so popular that Harry included it in his 1927 bar guide “Barflies and Cocktails,” giving full credit for the creation to Erskine Gwynne.
Campari, Wigle Bourbon, Wigle “Cocktail Mixer Np.1” AKA Vermouth. Yes, Wigle Whiskey products make up a large portion of my liquor cabinet.
The Recipe of Erskine Gwynne
1oz Bourbon whiskey*
1oz Italian (sweet) vermouth
1oz Campari
Orange or cherry for garnish
Combine bourbon, vermouth, and Campari in mixing glass filled with ice. Stir to chill, and strain into a glass of your choosing. Garnish with orange or cherry. I like to use cherry to help distinguish it from a negroni.
*Rye whiskey has also become an acceptable alternate choice for this drink
Conclusion
Having now spent more than our fair share of time trying different combinations of Campari beverages, my husband and I have concluded we would rather drink Nyquil spritzers than have Campari ever again. Sorry Stanly Tucci.