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Suzie Americano

By
Megan Krigbaum
megan krigbaum
Megan Krigbaum
Megan Krigbaum is a freelance drinks writer based in Brooklyn. She was the editor of "The Essential Cocktail Book."
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Updated 05/24/21
A light yellow cocktail on ice in a highball glass garnished with grapefruit zest

In this white version of the classic Americano, bartender Tristan Willey mixes Suze, a gentian-based herbal aperitif from Switzerland, with Carpano Bianco, a lightly sweet, round white Italian vermouth. The resulting drink is fragrant and low-alcohol—perfect for day drinking.

For those unfamiliar, the Americano dates back to 1860s Italy, when bar owner Gaspare Campari began to serve the three-ingredient cocktail (Campari, sweet vermouth and soda)—essentially a Milano-Torino with soda—at his cafe in Milan. The Americano is thought to be the Negroni’s precursor, and of course, the White Negroni is a variation thereof. Invented in 2001 by British bartender Wayne Collins, the White Negroni uses Suze in place of Campari and Carpano Bianco as a stand-in for sweet vermouth, bringing a lightness and florality to its deeper, darker ruby-red cousin. Again, Willey’s Suzie Americano is an evolution of the White Negroni, but in a way, this drink brings us back to where it all began.

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Ingredients

  • 1 oz Suze
  • 1 oz Carpano Bianco
  • Club soda, to top
  • Garnish: Grapefruit twist

Steps

  1. Add Suze and Carpano Bianco to a Collins glass filled with ice and stir.

  2. Top with soda water, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.