Pop quiz: What’s the first cocktail James Bond ever ordered?
A Martini? Nope.
A Vesper? Guess again.
A 007? Don’t be cute.
It was an Americano. Campari, sweet vermouth, and soda. Such a light concoction might seem incongruous with Bond’s popular image as a macho secret agent and killer of henchmen and ladies alike, but it’s true. In Casino Royale, Ian Fleming’s first novel in the Bond series, 007 orders one up while at a café. Though, he doesn’t seem particularly enthused about it, declaring, “In cafés you have to drink the least offensive of the musical comedy drinks that go with them.” Still, Americanos are preferable to the Heinekens he was knocking back in Skyfall.
First served at the Caffè Campari in Milan, Italy, sometime in the 1860s, the Americano was created by Gaspare Campari as a fizzy vehicle for his eponymous liqueur. Invented in 1860, Campari (the liqueur, not the man) is an aperitif made by infusing alcohol with herbs and fruit. The result is a dark red, syrupy spirit with a distinctly bittersweet flavor. Fun fact: until 2006, Campari’s red color was the result of carmine dye, a common pigment derived from crushed cochineal insects.
