Campari Soda

At 60 ml of Campari to 90 of soda it stays firmly bitter. Doubling the soda softens it into something you can drink in the sun. Triple it and you are at red water. Adjust in the glass, a splash at a time.

Because that’s a different product. Bottled Campari Soda comes ready-mixed at around ten percent alcohol, made to its own formula, and it’s rounder and softer than anything you build yourself. The homemade version is stronger and considerably more bitter.

Orange is standard and the softer choice, its oil reading as sweetness even though nothing sweet has been added. Lemon sharpens the whole thing up and suits a hotter day better. Squeeze the peel over the surface before dropping it in, either way.

Not any more. Carmine, made from cochineal insects, gave Campari its red for well over a century, and the company switched to a different coloring in the mid-2000s. Everything else about the recipe is still secret. Nothing in the taste changed, but a Campari Soda is now vegan-friendly.

A classic Campari Soda calls for 60 ml (2 oz) Campari, 90 ml (3 oz) Soda water. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Campari Soda is roughly 10% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it a relatively light, sessionable drink — similar in strength to a beer.

A Campari Soda is built directly in the glass over ice — no shaker required. Add the ingredients in order and give it a brief, gentle stir.