How To Drink Americano

[Silvana Fleischacker]

Andthey have. Espresso soda has been a thing in the Americas since the 1800s and even earlier than that in Europe. But the more I posted it on Instagram and carried it around the office, the more people asked me what the hell I was drinking. The citizens were curious.

And you know what could bring you even closer to the Spritzy Americano? Some booze. The addition of 1 oz. of amaro takes this thing to a whole new realm. You want an amaro with some depth of flavor but not too much menthol character, something like Braulio, Averna, or Cynar.

In a mixing glass, combine the Campari, vermouth, and coffee. Fill the mixing glass with ice and stir the drink until cold, about 20 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass and top with club soda. Stir once or twice, garnish with the orange wheel, and serve.

Time for brunch and I have the perfect cocktail! The Americano and Americano is my interpretation of a popular cocktail paired with espresso coffee. This is a great coffee cocktail to serve for brunch this weekend. I first tasted the Americano and Americano at The Chloe in New Orleans. This is my interpretation of their nuanced drink.

The Americano cocktail is typically made with Campari, sweet vermouth, and soda. Campari is quite bitter so Aperol is a sweeter substitute with only a hint of bitterness. Paired with the cold brew coffee, it creates a lovely balance and a full-flavored day drink.

Elveio Grassi was a globe-trotting Italian bartender during the 1920s-30s, and his 1936 book Mille Misture documents the then popularity of the Americano with its dozen different Americano recipes, each with combinations of different vermouths and bitter liqueurs.

Meaning "American-style" in Italian, the name references this cocktail's origins. Italian vermouth producers, picking up on the trend for cocktails in the USA to be based on vermouth and bitters, started marketing vermouths with bitters added under the name "vermouth Americano." Italian bars then started making their own versions by adding various bittersweet style liqueurs, including Fernet Branca, to vermouth. Some also added soda to turn this cocktail into a long drink. Then the popularity of the Milano Torino led to Campari being used in preference to amari in an Americano.

Mazzon Ferruccio's 1920 book Il Barista Guida del Barman, a "collection of American and International Recipes", includes two "Americano" recipes, a single serve and a "Americano (grandi quantit)" (large quantities). Both illustrate the Americano's origins as vermouth adjusted by adding bitters or bitter liqueurs and other flavourings such as "5 drops of cognac".

But it does. Since such a large percentage of this cocktail is club soda, i.e. water, it really tempers the strong bitter profile of Campari. The bubbles in the soda also make it more palatable for someone like me. This drink, along with the Gin Campari Sour, is going to help me train my tastebuds to like Campari.

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This is when I decided to try an Americano. I was hesitant at first, thinking it is just watered down coffee. How could that possibly be good? I have to tell you though, it was love at first sip. The cafe americano has a clean and robust flavor that is just super smooth.

Legend has it that American GIs stationed in Italy during WWII added a little bit of water to their espresso to recreate the taste of coffee they were used to back home. Little did they know, but GIs that were thirsty for the comforts of home created a beverage still enjoyed today.

The trick to getting a perfect, smooth tasting americano is to find the ratio of hot water to espresso that you like. I hit this on the first try with a 1:1 of hot water to espresso. Making an Americano could not be simpler.

Or, you could order a double, small americano, half full and that should also give you a 1 to 1 ratio. Your drink would be made with 2 ounces of espresso and 2 ounces of hot water and would half fill a 8 ounce cup.

The Negroni is a drink attributed to Count Camillo Negroni in Florence Italy. Apparently the Americano was not strong enough so the Count suggested replacing soda water with gin. I cannot say that is a suggestion that would come to me naturally, but you only have to look at my review of the Cinquecento, which I found more than a bit too powerful and bitter. After that experience, I read that Campari, as a bitter, is an acquired taste which also factored into my suggestion of two alternatives for this week.

The Americano is in many ways the simpler drink, It is made up of 1 ounce of Campari, 1 ounce of sweet vermouth and club soda. Served in a highball glass it is garnished with a twist of orange. The bitterness of the Campari is really knocked down by the sweetness of the vermouth and dilution of the club soda. It was so much more enjoyable and, like a bitter IPA beer, was great with spicy food.

A Negroni is equal parts (1 ounce) of Campari, sweet vermouth, and gin. It is also served with a twist of orange, on ice in an old fashioned glass. We tried it as an aperitif as it was intended and although it was a strong drink it mellowed as the ice melted. Overall it was complex and enjoyable. The Americano impressed me as a drink that people who like gin and tonic would enjoy as an alternative.

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While adding sugar to a hot americano is perfectly acceptable and will definitely sweeten your drink up something I would suggest, is adding the sugar directly to the espresso because the heat of the coffee will dissolve the sugar much better than if you were to add it once the water has been put in. The drink is still hot, but there is a chance the drink might turn out grainy.

Before we left, we made (and drank) way too many of these cocktails (which may or may not be why I failed to complete this post before we left for our trip). In any case, this drink is about as patriotic as it gets around here: an old-school Italian aperitif with the word "Americano" in the name and, for reasons unbeknownst to me, a red-and-white-striped rooster on the label.

Regardless, Cocchi Americano is delicious on its own as an aperitif, but it also mixes with St. Germain, prosecco, lemon, and saffron-cardamom tincture to create my cocktail soul mate (or as Domestic Partners Gaby and Aida call it, my spirit cocktail). The drink hails from Third Rail, a fabulous bar in the Dogpatch district of San Francisco that serves up seasonal cocktails (such as these) and housemade jerky. I knew I would love the One for the Money based on the ingredient list alone; floral, effervescent, and delicately spiced, it was love at first sip.

Cocchi Americano was a new ingredient to me and one that I now adore. It tastes a bit like the rough-and-tumble cousin of dainty Lillet. In fact, according to Serious Eats, Cocchi tastes the way Lillet Kina used to back when it included quinine in its ingredient list. In the last few years it has been embraced by mixologists for its ability to stand up to cocktails that were originally formulated for Lillet Kina.

Like Lillet, Cocchi Americano is a wine-based spirit flavored with a secret combination of aromatics. Cocchi includes quinine (a.k.a. cinchona), citrus, and elderflower. While Lillet is soft and delicate, Cocchi has a more pronounced bite that smacks of grapefruit rind's bitter edge mixed with honey and flowers. Over ice with a twist of lemon and a blast of fizzy water, it reminds me of my other favorite aperitif: the Martini Blanc.

The mixology masters at Third Rail stir Cocchi into this heavenly beverage flavored with floral St. Germain, tart lemon, fizzy prosecco, and a whiff of saffron and cardamom. The result is a cocktail that is softly alcoholic, not too sweet, and highly quaffable.

After sipping one alongside some housemade jerky, I could think of little else. I looked up Third Rail's online menu to remind myself of the ingredients and try to concoct something similar at home, but to my distress, One for the Money was Gone for the Money. Distraught, I sent an email asking if they might be persuaded to divulge the recipe since it was no longer on the menu. They responded not only by giving me the recipe, but also by assuring me that the drink was still very much on the menu, it just hadn't been updated on their website.

Many thanks to Third Rail for conjuring up my spirit cocktail and allowing me to share it here. If you happen down to the Dogpatch for a libation and some jerky (the Cowboy is our favorite), I heartily recommend heading over to Piccino for a spectacular seasonal supper, and The Lab for a delectable dessert (or five).

Be sure to give yourself at least a day to make the tincture before you plan to serve these. I've found that this makes an excellent cocktail party drink as you can mix everything but the prosecco ahead of time to taste, store it in the fridge for a few hours, then pour it into ice-filled glasses and top each with prosecco and a grapefruit twist to order.

If you're not ready to commit to opening a whole bottle of prosecco to top off these drinks, Presto makes some small bottles that are just right for 2 or 3 of these drinks (I found them at Whole Foods near the fancy cheeses). Otherwise, you can top these off with sparkling water instead.

Combine the cardamom pods, saffron, and Everclear in a small jar and let sit for at least 24 hours and preferably 3-5 days. Strain. Pour into a bottle with a dropper. The tincture should keep indefinitely.

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