Campari cocktails can benefit from the liqueur's bright orange color and bittersweet flavor. The trick in creating Campari drinks is to achieve a balance of flavors so the bitterness isn't overwhelming. These Campari recipes balance the bitterness of Campari with other flavor elements to make delicious and complex mixed drinks.
10 Easy Campari Cocktails
Campari is a popular Italian cocktail ingredient that's a classic apéritif (aperitivo in Italian). Along with its characteristic strong bitter, slightly sweet taste and bright red-orange color, Campari imparts flavors and aromas of orange peel, clove, cherry, cinnamon, and rhubarb. Campari drinks are visually appealing. The red-orange color of the Campari imparts a beautiful sunset hue to cocktails. Try any of these delicious and pretty Campari drink recipes.
1. Campari Spritz
The Campari spritz is a simple, refreshing cocktail that's perfect for summer. It uses the classic Italian sparkling wine, Prosecco, along with Campari and soda water for a light and fizzy bittersweet beverage.
Ingredients
- Ice
- 2 ounces Campari
- 2 ounces dry Prosecco
- Club soda or sparkling water
- Lemon wedge for garnish
Instructions
- In a wine glass, combine the Campari and ice. Stir to chill.
- Add the Prosecco. Fill the glass with sparkling water. Stir.
- Garnish with a lemon wedge.
2. Bittersweet Campari Spritz
This simple variation on the basic Campari spritz replaces Prosecco with another fizzy Italian wine from the Piedmont region, Moscato d'Asti. This wine is sweeter than Prosecco with flavors of apricots, so it adds sweetness to balance the bitterness of the Campari.
Ingredients
- Ice
- 2 ounces Campari
- 2 ounces Moscato d'Asti wine
- Club soda or sparkling water
- Orange wedge for garnish
Instructions
- In a wine glass, combine the Campari and ice. Stir to chill.
- Add the Moscato d'Asti and fill with sparkling water. Stir.
- Garnish with an orange wedge.
3. Negroni
The Negroni is a classic cocktail with Campari, gin, and sweet vermouth. The result is a deep red-orange cocktail with a beautiful balance of bitter, sweet, and aromatic. This negroni recipe allows you to make the classic cocktail.
4. Campari Soda
If you love the aroma and bitterness of Campari, then you can't get much simpler than a Campari and soda. This mixed drink allows Campari's bittersweet flavor to shine because there aren't any other ingredients masking its flavors.
Ingredients
- Ice
- 2 ounces Campari
- 4 ounces club soda or sparkling water
Instructions
- In a Collins glass, combine all three ingredients.
- Stir to chill.
5. Campari-Gin Old Fashioned
Old fashioned cocktails balance bitter, sweet, and strong in a simple but tasty drink. The classic old fashioned is made with whiskey, bourbon, Scotch, or rye, but the basic formula lends itself well to other combinations as well. Choose an aromatic gin with a flavor profile you particularly enjoy for this cocktail.
Ingredients
- 1 sugar cube
- 1 tablespoon Campari
- 1 orange peel
- 2 ounces dry gin
- Splash of water or soda water
- Ice cubes
Instructions
- In a rocks glass, combine the sugar cube, Campari, and orange peel. Muddle.
- Add the gin, soda water, and ice and stir.
6. Ginger-Campari Gin and Tonic
Ginger brings a hint of heat that blends well in a tasty, peach-colored gin and tonic. The Campari enhances the bitterness of the tonic water, so the drink is balanced and refreshing.
Ingredients
- 1 slice gingerroot, peeled
- ¾ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ ounce Campari
- 3 ounces London dry gin
- Ice
- 3 ounces tonic water
- Lime wheel for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, combine the gingerroot, lemon juice, and Campari. Muddle.
- Add the gin and ice and shake to chill.
- Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.
- Top with the tonic water. Stir and garnish with a lime wheel and/or a ginger slice.
7. Campari Lemonade
Adding Campari to lemonade brings aromatic bitterness to a refreshing beverage.
Ingredients
- ½ ounce Campari
- ¼ ounce grenadine
- 6 ounces freshly made lemonade
- Ice
- Lemon wedge and fresh mint leaf for garnish
Instructions
- In a Collins glass, combine the Campari, grenadine, lemonade, and ice. Stir.
- Garnish with the lemon wedge and mint leaf.
8. Boulevardier
The Boulevardier is a variation on the classic Negroni, but it's made with bourbon or rye instead of gin.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce Campari
- 1½ ounces bourbon or rye
- 1 ounce sweet vermouth
- Ice
- Orange peel for garnish
Instructions
- In a rocks glass, combine the Campari, bourbon, vermouth, and ice. Stir.
- Garnish with an orange peel.
9. Old Pal
The old pal is like a combination of a martini and a negroni: it uses dry vermouth, Campari, and rye whiskey.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce rye
- 1 ounce Campari
- 1 ounce dry vermouth
- Ice
- Lemon peel for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a mixing glass, combine the rye, Campari, and vermouth.
- Add the ice and stir to chill.
- Strain into the chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the lemon peel.
10. Campari Paloma
Italian liqueur meets Mexico's favorite drink, the Paloma, in this delicious grapefruit, Campari, and tequila cocktail.
Ingredients
- 1 pink grapefruit wedge
- Salt
- Ice
- ¾ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- ¾ ounce Campari
- 1½ ounces blanco tequila
- Ice
- Chilled grapefruit soda
Instructions
- Run the grapefruit wedge around the rim of a Collins glass and dip it in the salt to rim the glass. Fill the glass with crushed ice.
- In a cocktail shaker, combine the lime juice, Campari, and tequila.
- Add ice and shake to chill.
- Strain into the prepared Collins glass. Top off with grapefruit soda and stir.
- Garnish with the grapefruit wedge.
Bittersweet Campari Cocktails
Campari cocktails are bittersweet and refreshing with complex flavor profiles and aromas. If the Campari is too bitter for you, try replacing the Campari with Aperol, which is similar to Campari but slightly less bitter.
