Milano-Torino
A BevX Cocktail Recipe
Before there was a Negroni, before there was an Americano, there was this — two ingredients, one glass, no apologies. The Milano-Torino was first served around 1860 in Gaspare Campari’s café in Milan, and its name is a small geography lesson: Milan for Campari, Turin for the Vermouth di Torino that levels out its bitterness. Bartenders shorthand it as the Mi-To, which sounds like a nickname because it basically is one.
Everything that followed built on this template. Top it with soda, and you get the Americano; add Gin and skip the soda, and you get the Negroni. But there’s something to be said for the original, unadorned version — it’s the bittersweet blueprint the entire aperitivo category still runs on. Start here, then work your way forward.
Ingredients
1 1/2 oz. Bitter (like Campari)
1 1/2 oz. Quality, Sweet Vermouth di Torino
Orange peel or slice for garnish.
Occasion
This is the aperitivo at its most elemental — pour it when you want the Negroni’s bittersweet backbone without the Gin, or when you’re introducing someone to the category for the very first time.
Method
Build directly in an Old-Fashioned glass filled with ice. Add the Campari and Vermouth di Torino and stir to combine. Garnish with an orange slice.
Variations
Add a splash of soda and you’ve built an Americano; add gin instead of soda and you’ve built a Negroni — nearly every great Italian aperitivo traces back to this two-ingredient blueprint. I favor a true Vermouth di Torino over a generic sweet Vermouth here, since the drink is simple enough that every ingredient has nowhere to hide. Some bartenders swap in Select or another Amaro for a different but no less traditional profile.
Source: Classic