Campari
Campari is a red Italian bitter liqueur, 25% ABV in the UK on a wholesaler’s listing, made in the style Difford’s Guide describes: an infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water. Campari dates it to 1860 and Gaspare Campari; the Oxford Companion has Gaspare setting up in Novara in 1856 and moving to Milan in 1862. Its bitterness anchors the Negroni and the Americano, and lengthened with soda over ice it needs nothing else.
Quick Facts
Upright, capped, away from sunlight; the fridge is optional. In our experience its strength and sugar keep an opened bottle stable.
None of the 14 listed allergens. Recipes change: check the bottle.
About Campari
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Bitter orange peel and herbs over a firm sweetness, with a long, dry, bitter finish.
A bitter liqueur, sweet enough to be one
Campari is made in the style Difford’s Guide describes as an infusion of herbs and fruit in neutral alcohol and water; UK bottles are 25% ABV on a UK wholesaler’s listing, and Campari America labels its bottle at 24%, so other markets differ. Difford’s Guide lists its style among liqueurs, which under Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 means at least 15% ABV and a minimum of 100 grams of sugar in every litre; the sugar is there to make the bitterness drinkable, not to hide it. Difford’s Guide names chinotto, cascarilla and grapefruit among the botanicals of its style, and Kindred Cocktails says the recipe is a secret thought to contain chinotto.
The colour changed in 2006
Difford’s Guide says the red originally came from carmine, a dye made from crushed cochineal beetles, and that most brands, Campari included, now use other colourings; Alcademics dates the end of cochineal to 2006 but found it still listed on a Swedish bottle in 2017, which matters to anyone avoiding insect-derived ingredients.
With soda, with vermouth, with gin
The simplest serve is the Campari and Soda: a measure over ice with twice its volume of cold soda, just over one UK unit. Add an equal pour of sweet vermouth and it becomes the Americano; replace the soda with gin and it is the Negroni, equal parts at 30ml. The Boulevardier does the same with 45ml of bourbon.
Campari against the bitters it is compared with (UK strengths and categories from LWC’s and a UK retailer’s listings, Aperol’s own site and Difford’s Guide; bitterness and serves are ours)
Campari
- Strength (UK)
- 25% ABV
- Legal category
- Liqueur
- Bitterness
- High, throughout
- Long serve
- With soda
Aperol
- Strength (UK)
- 11% ABV
- Legal category
- Under liqueur strength
- Bitterness
- Gentle, orange-led
- Long serve
- Spritz with prosecco
Cynar
- Strength (UK)
- 16.5% ABV
- Legal category
- Liqueur
- Bitterness
- Moderate, earthy
- Long serve
- With soda and citrus
Suze
- Strength (UK)
- 20% ABV
- Legal category
- Liqueur
- Bitterness
- Clean, from gentian
- Long serve
- With tonic
| Bottle | Strength (UK) | Legal category | Bitterness | Long serve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campari | 25% ABV | Liqueur | High, throughout | With soda |
| Aperol | 11% ABV | Under liqueur strength | Gentle, orange-led | Spritz with prosecco |
| Cynar | 16.5% ABV | Liqueur | Moderate, earthy | With soda and citrus |
| Suze | 20% ABV | Liqueur | Clean, from gentian | With tonic |
Campari or Aperol
Both belong to Campari Group, and one cannot simply replace the other. Aperol is 11% ABV, sweeter and orange-first, and too light to hold up a stirred drink; Campari at 25% carries a Negroni. In a spritz the swap runs the other way: our Spritz al Bitter uses Campari for a darker, drier glass than the Aperol version.
Using Campari
Usage
Long, with soda over ice: 45ml with 90ml of soda in our Campari and Soda. 30ml in the Negroni, the Boulevardier and the Americano. In smaller measures, 7.5 to 22.5ml, it sharpens gin, rum and tequila drinks.
Pro Tip
Set the bitterness against something: vermouth's sugar, citrus acid, or a long pour of soda. Neat over ice it is hard going; the same measure lengthened tastes clean and dry.
Top Tips
- Stir it with spirits and vermouth; shake it only when the recipe has juice in it.
- If a Negroni reads too bitter, trim the Campari rather than the vermouth, whose sugar holds the bitterness in check.
- Chill the soda as well as the glass; warm soda loses its fizz fast.
Possible Substitutions
- Aperol: Lighter and less bitter
Production Method
A secret mix of herbs, plants and fruit steeped in alcohol and water, sweetened and coloured red; 25% ABV in the UK. Chinotto and cascarilla are the ingredients most often named.
History & Context
Campari’s own history dates Gaspare Campari’s bitter to 1860 and records the move in 1904 to a plant at Sesto San Giovanni, now the group’s headquarters. The Oxford Companion says Gaspare, a farmer’s son from Novara, set up his own business there in 1856 and moved it to Milan in 1862, and that the new formula behind his fortune was developed while his shop was displaced, before the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele opened in 1867; Difford’s Guide says he created the drink between 1860 and 1867 in the cellars of his Caffè Campari in Milan. The Companion says he added the red colour, using cochineal, at some point; Difford’s says the red was originally carmine, and Alcademics dates the end of cochineal to 2006, with exceptions. Campari dates its ready-mixed Campari Soda, in a bottle designed by the Futurist artist Fortunato Depero, to 1932.
More to explore
Common Questions
What is Campari?
How is Campari served?
Is Campari soda alcoholic?
What is the Campari and soda ratio?
Why is Campari so bitter?
What is the difference between Campari and Aperol?
Does Campari need refrigerating?
Does Campari still contain cochineal?
Sources.
Checked between 16 October and 19 October 2026.
- Campari, “Our history”.
- Campari, “Campari Bitter” (producer’s product page and tasting notes).
- Campari, “Campari Soda”.
- Campari America, “Campari” (US label strength, 24% alc./vol.).
- Difford’s Guide, “Italian red bitter liqueurs: Campari style” (secondary source: styles flavoured with an infusion of herbs and fruits (chinotto, cascarilla, grapefruit) in neutral alcohol and water; carmine from cochineal originally, most brands now other colourings).
- LWC, “Campari 70cl” (UK wholesaler listing (25% ABV; producer given as Campari UK); Campari publishes no UK ABV).
- LWC, “Cynar Liqueur 70cl” (UK wholesaler listing (16.5% ABV)).
- Fareham Wine Cellar, “Suze Gentian Liqueur 20%” (UK retailer listing (20% in the UK, 15% in the rest of Europe)).
- Aperol, “Frequently Asked Questions”.
- Aperol, “Aperol History: Together since 1919”.
- legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, Annex II (retained)”.
- The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (Leo Leuci and David Wondrich), “Campari” (secondary source: Gaspare Campari of Novara; Novara 1856, Milan 1862; the formula of the 1860s; cochineal colouring; the factory of 1904; Campari Soda 1932).
- Difford’s Guide, “Campari Bitter” (secondary source: created between 1860 and 1867 in the cellars of his Caffè Campari in Milan; 25%).
- Alcademics (Camper English, 15 July 2017), “Campari is Made Differently Around the World: Cochineal, Coloring, ABV, & Eggs” (named-author drinks writer: cochineal discontinued in 2006, but not everywhere (Sweden, Mexico)).
- Kindred Cocktails, “Campari” (cocktail reference: the recipe is a secret, thought to contain chinotto; the colour before 2006).
- Camperdown Cellars, “Campari Soda 10% 98ml Bottle Single” (Australian retailer’s listing: Campari Soda, 98ml, 10% ABV).
From the Guides
Made with Campari
Featured In These Cocktails
Often Used With
Updated 19 October 2026