How to make home-made damson campari

Surely the most well known and popular amaro, Campari dates back to 1860. Its distinct red hue and bracing bitterness have made it a classic ingredient both in simple drinks like Campari and soda and in cocktails like the negroni. Nowadays the Campari Group owns many brands including Aperol, Cinzano, Grand Marnier and even the Appleton / Wray & Nephew rums. Like many other amari, there is a mystique around the secret recipe, known to only a few people who mix a concentrate in Milan that is then shipped to factories around the world. It definitely contains bitter orange peel among the 68 ingredients, and many articles also assume chinotto (small, bitter oranges from Italy) and cascarilla bark (a Caribbean shrub), although there are as many theories as to other ingredients as there are articles!

The recipe below is taken almost entirely from the excellent attempt to reproduce the Campari taste by Sam Schick, but with the addition of damsons that are then macerated for a couple of months. The result is richer, a little sweeter and less bitter than Campari, but quite a successful attempt. It will work well in a winter time spritz, or to make a more unusual negroni. The damsons also provide a wonderfully deep colour, so there’s no need for the original red dye used by Campari (carmine, the pigment made of dried cochineal beetles), nor its modern day replacement. Interestingly the recipe contains neither chinotto nor cascarilla bark, but neverthless is close to the original.

For a damson negroni, combine this damson campari with damson vermouth and gin in equal quantities. For a much sweeter triple damson negroni, use damson gin instead of regular gin.