The drink was created by Gaspare Campari in the 1860s. In Italy, it was originally known as a Milano-Torino as it combined Campari from Milan and vermouth from Turin. The Americano name was an homage to the boxer Primo Carnera, the first Italian heavyweight champion in the United States. The Americano, not the vodka martini, is also the first drink ordered by James Bond in the first of Ian Fleming's original novels, Casino Royale.
And I thought it was just a watered down espresso! I know better now :-)
ReplyDeleteHa! I didn’t even think of the coffee drink. Stateside, an americano is just “regular.”
DeleteOh My Goodness that is what I thought a coffee Americano !
ReplyDeleteOne thing I can drink coffee. I love Campari.
cheers, parsnip
In all honesty, I would miss coffee a lot more than alcohol if I had to give them up.
DeleteWow! Looks yummy! I thought it was sangria.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I'm sure I'll tackle sangria at some point.
DeleteHmm... Interesting.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm curious about drinks made famous through literature.
I may have to make time to do some research...
My wife has a book on her shelf which I'm sure will eventually end up on mine: Pleasures of the Table, A Literary Anthology selected by Christian Hardyment. It's more about food in literature rather than drink but might still be of interest to you.
DeleteYeah, it might.
DeleteIf I can work it in somewhere!
Same here, really.
DeleteI’m glad Bond didn’t stick with the Americano as his drink of choice. “Americano shaken not stirred” doesn’t have the same ring. Good trivia!
ReplyDeleteYou're right. It doesn't fall of the tongue quite so nicely.
Delete