Or "I'm Afraid of Americans". My version of the Americano.
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On my endless quest to try all liqueurs with a secretive European recipe history, I found myself exploring two great Italian bitter classics: Campari and Aperol. Campari is probably the more famous of the two, and is used in a variety of cocktails, most notably the classic Negroni. I’m not much of a fan of Negronis - I find it not that well balanced and the gin gets lost. However, I do enjoy Campari’s bitterness, and since the long drunken winter nights have begun to bog me down, I’ve been looking for something lighter with a summer kick. The classic Americano is simply equal parts Campari and sweet vermouth with club soda, but I decided to experiment with Aperol, which is also now owned by The Campari Group and is a similar bitter herbal aperitif but lighter and with a distinctly orange/grapefruit flavor profile and color. And, since I often like to include some of the actual fruit juice used as a base for the various liqueurs that I am sampling, I included some fresh squeezed orange juice, or in this case blood orange as a nod to the blend of the blood red Campari with the dark orange Aperol. This promises to be my favorite go-to beverage for the summer, and because of its relatively low alcohol content I’ll be able to pound them like lemonade without getting drunk!
2 oz. sweet vermouth
3/4 oz. Campari
3/4 oz. Aperol
3/4 oz. fresh squeezed blood orange juice
2 to 3 ounces club soda
blood orange wheels for garnish
Shake all ingredients, strain over ice in Collins glass, top with soda, garnish. It helps to lay the orange wheel along the side of the glass before adding ice.