The best-selling bitter liqueur in the world was invented in Italy in 1862 by the entrepreneur Gaspare Campari (1828-1882). He called it "Bitter d'Olanda". In German, this means "Holländisch-Bitter", because the so-called bitters were very popular with the Dutch. In 1867, he then opened his café "Duomo" in Milan. In 1904, the first Campari production plant was opened in Sesto San Giovanni in Lombardy. Under the management of the founder's son Davide Campari, exports began, first to France but soon also overseas. Campari is still produced today according to a secret company recipe. Allegedly, only president Luca Garavoglia, with the help of the technical director and a few employees, produces the basic concentrate. Luca Garavoglia is also the only person in the world who knows the complete original recipe. Around 80 ingredients are used, such as herbs, roots and fruits. A few well-known ones are cinchona bark, ginseng, pomegranate, substances of the cascarilla tree, rhubarb, orange peel and citrus oil.
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Markus J. Eser
Weinakademiker und Herausgeber „Der Weinkalender“