Americano

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Americano

IBA Official Cocktail
Type	Mixed drink
Primary alcohol by volume	Campari
Served	On the rocks; poured over ice
Standard garnish	half an orange slice, lemon peel
Standard drinkware	Old Fashioned glass
IBA specified ingredients*	30ml (one part) Campari 30ml (one part) sweet red vermouth Dash of club soda
Preparation	Pour the Campari and vermouth over ice into glass. Top with club soda. Garnish and serve.
* Americano recipe at International Bartenders Association

The Americano is a cocktail composed of Campari, sweet vermouth, and club soda. The cocktail was first served in creator Gaspare Campari's bar, Caffè Campari, in the 1860s. It was originally known as the "Milano-Torino" because of its ingredients: Campari, the bitter liqueur, is from Milan and Cinzano, the vermouth, is from Turin (Torino). It is popular belief that in the early 1900s, the Italians noticed a surge of Americans who enjoyed the cocktail. As a compliment to the Americans, the cocktail later became known as the "Americano". A more probable explanation however is that the name was derived from the word "amaro", which means "bitter" in Italian.

It is the first drink ordered by James Bond in the first novel in Ian Fleming's series, Casino Royale. In the short story "From a View to a Kill" Bond chooses an Americano as an appropriate drink for a mere café; suggesting that "in cafés you have to drink the least offensive of the musical comedy drinks that go with them."^[1] Bond always stipulates Perrier, for in his opinion expensive soda water was the cheapest way to improve a poor drink.

Cocktail IBA

In the latest version IBA, lemon peel is deleted from the recipe.

See also

The Wikibook Bartending has a page on the topic of Americano

• Negroni
• List of cocktails

References