Dark Chocolate Garibaldi

Good morning, lover.

Welcome back to Mean Spirited.

It was a bit of a running thing that Bella really wanted me to make this one drink for her, and for two years, I never did. It was this foamy, bittersweet layered beverage with Campari and orange juice she saw once at an Italian place called Sammy’s — a Garibaldi. This Valentine’s Day, I’ve decided to finally make it.

The Garibaldi is a relatively obscure classic from 1960s Italy. Simple to build and low ABV, this cocktail was originally comprised of Campari and “fluffy” OJ. One of Bella’s favorite flavor pairings is chocolate and orange, so I decided to incorporate that into the lesser-known brunch favorite.

The secret to the modern Garibaldi is the “fluffy” citrus achieved by a centrifugal juicer, popularized by the bar and restaurant Dante in NYC. A decent consumer-grade juicer starts at $200 and simply takes up too much countertop space, which for us, is at a desperate premium. If you have one, use it. If not, you can get a similar texture by pulsing the fresh orange juice with an immersion blender or milk frother, even better with Fee Brothers Fee Foam, a stable foam cocktail additive. It also calls for a rich simple syrup, which you can make by combining 2 parts sugar with 1 part water in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.

This recipe is for one cocktail, so you can easily scale it up as much as you like. You’ll have plenty of Campari.

Difficulty: Easy

Inactive time: 18-24 hours

Active time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

For the cacao-infused Campari

• 150g cacao nibs

• 750mL bottle of Campari

For assembly

• Ice

• 1.5oz cacao-infused Campari

• 4oz freshly-squeezed orange juice

• 1/4oz rich simple syrup (2:1 sugar to water by weight)

• 2 dashes Fee Brothers Fee Foam (optional)

• Dark chocolate, to garnish

For the cacao-infused Campari

1. Combine the cacao nibs and the full 750mL bottle of Campari into a 32oz non-reactive lidded container. Lid it and shake the mixture.

2. After about 18-24 hrs, taste for balance. The infusion should have chocolate on the nose but retain plenty of smooth bitterness.

3. Once the liqueur tastes as desired, filter the Campari back into the bottle with a funnel and fine mesh strainer.

4. To build a cocktail, fill a tall, medium-sized glass half full with ice.

5. Add 1.5oz cacao-infused Campari.

6. In a jar or deli, add the orange juice, fee foam and pulse a few times with an immersion blender or milk frother until foamy.

7. Pour the fluffy orange juice over the Campari, add more ice to top up the glass and gently stir in the rich simple syrup to incorporate.

8. To garnish, finely grate chocolate over the top of your finished cocktail.

Cheers,

Rog