How to Make Campari

 

Greetings, I am Wagner Ramírez, artisan liquor maker.

Today I show you my interpretation of the famous “Campari” liquor.

I must warn that I am not trying to make a replica or a forgery, what I do is use my knowledge and the techniques that I master to try to approximate the original Campari. The results will be unique and interesting.

Campari is a medium-strength liquor, quite bitter, sweet and aromatic. It is a very interesting challenge to interpret.

After a very analytical tasting, you can perceive herbal and citrus notes. I was able to deduce that it is a very complex liquor and full of exotic ingredients. Try to design the following recipe so that it is accessible to most of you. In addition, I renounce the art of adding chemicals to liqueurs, therefore, my preparation is natural, it does not have artificial colors or complex surfactants.

This recipe is valid for 300 ml of liquor at 15% alcohol.

Ingredients

Botanicals

• 10 g of dried peel of mandarin (Citrus reticulata).
• 10 g of hibiscus flower (Hibiscus sabdariffa).
• 3 g of dehydrated blackberry berries (Rubus fruticosus).
• 3 g of coriander seeds (Coriandrum sativum).
• 1 ml of orange blossom extract. It's optional.
• 1 ml of vanilla extract. It's optional.

Alcohol

200 ml of vodka.

Syrup

150 ml of sugar syrup.

Preparation

1. Place botanicals and vodka in an airtight container. Let it marinate for a month.
2. Filter the mash and discard the solid matter.
3. Place the liquid in a bowl and mix well with the syrup.
4. Finally bottle the liquor.

Second Recipe

This recipe was a second interpretation that I made months later and it has a more complex flavor and a lighter color. The alcoholic level is 30% and it is less sweet. The procedure is the same.

Ingredients

• 10 g of ginger.
• 10 g of orange peel.
• 5 g of cardamom seeds.
• 5 g of coriander seeds.
• 5 g of hibiscus flower.
• 400 ml of vodka.
• 150 ml of sugar syrup.

Conservation

This liquor in a clean and tightly closed bottle can be stored for several years. If we leave the bottle open, the alcohol can evaporate, and it would decompose in a few days.

Cocktail

• Put ice in a tall glass.
• Add an ounce of homemade campari.
• Add an ounce of orange juice.
• Add an ounce of rum.
• Finish filling the glass with soda.
• Put on a remover.
• Serve without stirring.