Food - Drink
The Garibaldi Cocktail Contains Just 2 Ingredients
By EMILY BOYETTE
The Garibaldi is a simple red-hued cocktail garnished with an orange wedge, and it makes for a perfect addition to brunch, a refreshing aperitivo before dinner, or a lazy afternoon sip. It's fruity, refreshing, slightly sweet, and easy to drink, but has a surprisingly rich history; if you think the name Garibaldi sounds Italian, you'd be correct.
This cocktail is named after Giuseppe Garibaldi, a 19th-century revolutionary who united the regions of Italy into one. The drink represents Italian unity, with Campari representing the North due to its origins in Lombardy, and Sicilian-grown oranges representing the South — yes, the drink is made with just Campari and orange juice.
Today, the Garibaldi is the house cocktail of Dante, an Italian-style aperitivo bar in Manhattan that sits at number one on the list of The World's 50 Best Bars. According to Robb Report, the Garibaldi was an often overlooked cocktail before the team at Dante tweaked one of the drink's two ingredients to bring it into the spotlight.
The staff at Dante use orange juice that's freshly squeezed by hand, which results in a frothy appearance and a bit more sweetness to temper the bigger Campari. You can recreate the Garibaldi by blitzing fresh orange juice in a blender without ice, then mixing it with a bright red Campari such as Cappelletti Aperitivo, Select Bitter, or Luxardo Bitter.