What the #$@! Do I Do with This? Campari: What It Is and How to Use It.

You bought a spirit or liqueur because a cocktail recipe called for a very minute amount. Now you’re stuck with the remaining 9/10ths of the bottle and what to do with it. No worries. Thrifty bartenders weigh in with tips and recipes for getting every last drop out of an underutilized ingredient so it doesn’t gather dust on your bar shelf.

Odds are that if you have a bottle of Campari you’re either a fan of the boozy and stirred Negroni or its spritzy kin, the Americano. And while some may enjoy subbing it for Aperol in a spritz, and those who take a dive into Tiki will recognize its role in a Jungle Bird, the crimson-tinged liqueur is often considered too bitter and intense to be versatile in drinks. Affatto, say modern bartenders.

“Campari is very versatile: Fruit, spices and herbs are good enhancers,” says Melissa Romanos, the beverage manager at The Publican in Chicago. She cites citrus, pineapple, berries, basil, thyme and baking spices as having particularly good affinity. “Campari lends itself to sours, beer cocktails and Tiki-style drinks,” she adds. The important consideration is combining the proper ratio of ingredients.

“The best way to overcome any misconception toward a particular spirit is by showcasing [it] in a way that highlights its best qualities and perhaps downplays those qualities people may not find friendly,” says Romanos. To offset inherent bitter tones, her Campari Sour is joined by the maple and dried fruit notes of sherry; her Nordic Winter receives a bracing herbal kick of caraway from aquavit; and the Tiki-esque Castaway acquires a smooth mouthfeel from coconut cream and orgeat.

Campari’s moderate ABV (it clocks in at just 48 proof) makes it a perfect ingredient in low-proof libations. At The Elysian Bar in New Orleans, much of the drink program focuses on spritzes and vermouth-and-tonics, with an aperitivo menu in additional to boozier cocktail offerings. For day drinking, bartender Jesi Goodwin mixes Campari with sweeter citrus juices or cuts it with soda water or sparkling wine. She also adds a dash of it to a Paloma or sours and replaces sweet vermouth with Campari for a spin on some of the classics.

Although Campari carries a deeper bitterness apparent at the onset and finish, Goodwin uses it (along with bianco vermouth) to add a touch of sweetness to her C’est Chic, with lime, cucumber bitters and a housemade hibiscus and mint tea. “[It’s] an invigorating thirst-quencher: hydrating, medicinal, tart, bright and elegant, [and] its deep magenta color is visually stimulating.”

“Believe it or not, Campari is a very flexible product. It all depends on how you balance the ingredients,” says Vincenzo Marianella, the beverage director at Fia in Santa Monica, California. Though it’s generally used as a modifier, taking a back seat to other booze like gin or bourbon, he says it can as easily be a base, as in his Novara Sour, which contains two full ounces. “Campari used to be the bad boy in cocktails back in the day; either you loved it or hated it.” 

Lately though, it’s become the red hot star of the backbar. These are three Campari cocktails to convince you to give the bitter liqueur its due.