Before Dinner: A Campari Apéritif

An apéritif comes before the meal. The word comes from the French apéritif, derived from the Latin aperire, meaning “to open.”

An amuse-bouche prepares the palate for the meal. An apéritif wakes up the appetite and signals the beginning of the dining experience.

Think Pastis, Campari Soda, Aperol Spritz, Select Spritz, Lillet Blanc, Negroni Sbagliato or Champagne. Each serves the same purpose: to mark the beginning of the evening and awaken the appetite.

Today, I am featuring a Campari Soda, one of my favorites.

For those of you who may not know, Campari is an Italian aperitivo known for its vibrant red color and pleasantly bitter profile. Produced in Italy since 1860, it has long been a staple of bars, cafés, and dinner tables.

Served simply with soda water and a neatly trimmed orange or grapefruit slice, it remains one of the easiest apéritifs you can make.

Fun fact: Campari’s signature red color originally came from carmine, a natural dye derived from cochineal insects.

One of the things I appreciate most about the apéritif tradition is what it represents. It creates a pause between the day and the dinner table and what better way than a cold, crisp, bittersweet apéritif. A moment to gather, converse, relax and enjoy. Have one or two. Who’s counting?

Campari Soda

Ingredients

2 oz Campari

3–4 oz soda water

Orange slice or grapefruit slice, neatly trimmed

Ice

Method

Fill a glass with ice.

Add the Campari

Top with soda water

Garnish: neatly trimmed orange or grapefruit slice

Glass: A rocks glass, double old fashioned, or what I still call a bucket glass

Bar Chef Notes

The beauty of this drink is simplicity. There is an elegance in simplicity. Sometimes hospitality is not about doing more. Simple drinks often have the longest history.

Lime offers a brighter, sharper citrus note than orange or grapefruit, should you choose.

Some days a coffee cup instead of bucket glass is just fine too.

In the end, it’s about creating space for people to slow down, enjoy what is already in front of them, appreciate the good company around them, and appreciate the simple ritual of beginning a meal together.

Cin cin.

Toast. Taste. Train.

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