One of Italy’s most iconic and best-loved drinks, Campari is a bitter and aromatic liqueur, and an essential ingredient in many popular cocktails. Campari was created in Novara in 1860 by Gaspare Campari, who shortly afterwards introduced his new drink to Bar Zucca in Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele (the bar still sometimes claims Campari was invented in their cellar). In 1904, the first production plant was opened in Sesto San Giovanni, where under the direction of Davide Campari — whose name still appears on the bottle.
Campari is obtained from the infusion of bitter and aromatic herbs, plants and fruit in alcohol and water. Though it certainly contains quinine and other bitter herbs, rhubarb, spices, ginseng, bergamot oil, and orange peel, the exact ingredients are not known, and the precise recipe still remains a closely-guarded secret. It is said the chairman of Gruppo Campari, Luca Garavoglia, is the only person in the world who knows the entire formula for the original family recipe.
