Splash a Little Campari Into Your Iced Coffee

Even at the apex of my partying, I was never big on combining caffeine and booze. The Four Loko fad missed me entirely, and Red Bull & Vodka crossed my lips exactly one time in college during a desperate and unhinged thermodynamics study session. But I’m not against the concept entirely, especially when presented in a less aggressive format. I enjoy a little homemade Irish cream in my Christmas morning cup of ho-ho-joe, and I don’t hate the idea of a lightly alcoholic afternoon iced coffee.

I’ve seen a few recipes for Negroni/iced coffee hybrids, but that’s too much for me. (I’m quite delicate these days.) Three ounces of hard alcohol would lay me out in the middle of the day no matter how much caffeine was involved, and cold brew isn’t something I want to start drinking at cocktail hour. But a little Campari, splashed into a tall, frosty glass of iced coffee, without the gin and vermouth? That’s a nice little afternoon treat.

Get some pretty cups for your iced coffee:

Campari, for the uninitiated, has a lot going on. It’s juicy but bitter, with lots of herbs and a bit of burnt orange peel, with just enough sweetness to balance out all of those botanicals. It also pairs excessively well with iced coffee, especially light roasts with bright, citrusy tasting notes. It’s bitter and bracing, refreshing and lightly boozy, the perfect 2 p.m. pick-me-up cocktail or weekend brunch libation.

Even though Campari is technically a liqueur, and packs a fair amount of sugar, you’ll still want to add a little bit of simple syrup to round out the harsh edges from the ethanol, otherwise the combination reads as overly bitter and astringent. (It will still be quite bitter though; it is Campari, after all.) If you want a garnish, a squeeze of lemon is delightful.