Things I Like - Food

I’m a big fan of Campari – have been since the first time I tried it. There’s something about the bitter red aperitif that just tastes right to me, especially in the summer.

Although my favorite is the basic - Campari and soda over ice - it is very versatile and can be:

Fruited up - with orange juice & soda
Drunked up – with gin in a Negroni
Cocktailed – with vermouth in an Americano

Apparently, it can also be turned into a lamp
On sale for $420 at Stardust

And it’s such a pretty color. Imagine my horror when I read yesterday that the cherry red color comes from beetle blood.

Campari and other red, pink, or purple beverages, yogurts, and ice creams … are often colored with Natural Red 4 … also known as crimson lake, carmine, carminic acid, or cochineal. The dye is made from an insect called the cochineal, which lives on cacti in Mexico and South America.
~Chowhound

After further research, I learned that the manufacturers, Gruppo Campari, started using an artificial non-insect based coloring agent in 2006 for much of their production.


I have to say, I went straight to the liquor cabinet to see which kind I had.

My bottle didn’t have a list of ingredients but it did say Artificially Colored so I’m assuming that no beetles died for my Campari Soda last night.