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History of Campari, 19th Century Liquor Whose Ingredients are Known by None
Wherever you sit in a bar, you cannot hoodwink the luscious red beckoning you from the bartender's shelf, like the colour of the lipstick worn by a lady at some party. "What's that?" You ask a bearer when curiosity finally gets the better of you.
The name is Campari.
Invented in the 19th century by an Italian named Gaspare Campari, it is one of the most famous aperitif in the world of spirits. The dark red concoction is made with an assortment of herbs infused in alcohol, but beyond that it is dark terrain, for the secret of their names and their combination are still hidden even after 150 years.
Born in the small town of Cassolnovo in Lombardy, Gaspare Campari was the tenth child of a farmer. As a boy, he began working as a waiter and dishwasher toiling away in different restaurants in Milan and had an interest in the world of liqueurs.
When Gaspare got married, he set up a Cafe in the west of Milan. However, he was not someone who would settle down with an ordinary life. During his free time, he went down to his cellar to mix up liquids to see how liqueurs could be fashioned up from scratch.
Whatever struck his fancy - Cocoa, vanilla, raspberry - he tossed into the cauldron to see what would come out of it. The customers who dedicatedly visited his Cafe knew for sure that he would always emerge from the cellar with something new and interesting.
One day, Gaspare brought to his customers a new drink - Bitter all'Uso d'Holanda - the Dutch bitters that took his patrons off their feet. Finetuning it, in 1860 he settled on the recipe that would become the phenomenal Campari bitter.
When his wife died, Gaspare moved to Milan, where he got married again and purchased a bar named Amicizia. Though he presented all his fares in the new establishment too, it was his Campari bitter that became instantly popular.
Wherever you sit in a bar, you cannot hoodwink the luscious red beckoning you from the bartender's shelf, like the colour of the lipstick worn by a lady at some party. "What's that?" You ask a bearer when curiosity finally gets the better of you.
The name is Campari.
Invented in the 19th century by an Italian named Gaspare Campari, it is one of the most famous aperitif in the world of spirits. The dark red concoction is made with an assortment of herbs infused in alcohol, but beyond that it is dark terrain, for the secret of their names and their combination are still hidden even after 150 years.
Born in the small town of Cassolnovo in Lombardy, Gaspare Campari was the tenth child of a farmer. As a boy, he began working as a waiter and dishwasher toiling away in different restaurants in Milan and had an interest in the world of liqueurs.
When Gaspare got married, he set up a Cafe in the west of Milan. However, he was not someone who would settle down with an ordinary life. During his free time, he went down to his cellar to mix up liquids to see how liqueurs could be fashioned up from scratch.
Whatever struck his fancy - Cocoa, vanilla, raspberry - he tossed into the cauldron to see what would come out of it. The customers who dedicatedly visited his Cafe knew for sure that he would always emerge from the cellar with something new and interesting.
One day, Gaspare brought to his customers a new drink - Bitter all'Uso d'Holanda - the Dutch bitters that took his patrons off their feet. Finetuning it, in 1860 he settled on the recipe that would become the phenomenal Campari bitter.
When his wife died, Gaspare moved to Milan, where he got married again and purchased a bar named Amicizia. Though he presented all his fares in the new establishment too, it was his Campari bitter that became instantly popular.