Compadre ROSSO Red Essence 20 ml

Compadre ROSSO Red Essence 20 ml

The red bitter is the uncrowned queen of aperitifs. Glowing red, bittersweet and impossible to mistake for anything else, it has gone from café-table classic to the backbone of some of the most ordered cocktails in the world. Compadre Rosso brings that iconic flavour home – for a spritz on the balcony, a Negroni before dinner or simply a glass with soda and ice.

The bittersweet taste is often a love that grows on you. The first sip may come as a surprise, the second stirs your curiosity and by the third most people are hooked. Bitterness, you see, has a talent that sweet drinks lack: it quenches your thirst and whets your appetite at one and the same time.

Colour & Appearance

Once mixed, the drink takes on its famous colour: clear, intensely ruby red, almost luminous in sunlight. It is a colour that flatters any glass and turns even the simplest drink into a small work of art.

Nose

The nose is bitter-fruity and complex. Bitter orange peel and blood orange arrive first, followed by rhubarb, cherry and red berries. Beneath them lies a herbal, almost medicinal note of gentian, cinchona bark and wormwood, with a gentle spiciness of cinnamon and clove.

Palate

The palate is a game between sweet and bitter. It opens with sweet orange and cherry, almost like a boiled fruit sweet, but within a second the bitterness takes over – clean, dry and demanding, rooted in grapefruit peel, rhubarb and bitter herbs. Then it swings back and forth: sweetness, bitterness, fruit, spice. It is precisely this tug-of-war that makes the drink so appetising, and that has you reaching for another sip straight away.

Finish

The finish is long and dry, dominated by bitter orange and cinchona bark. The bitterness cleanses the palate and wakes up the appetite – exactly what an aperitif is for.

How to Use

The essence is mixed with vodka or neutral spirit plus sugar. 20 ml makes 750 ml of finished aperitif. Instructions are on the label.

Serving Suggestions

• On the rocks with a thick slice of orange.
• With soda water and ice – light, dry and thirst-quenching.
• Spritz with sparkling wine, soda and orange.
• Negroni: equal parts red bitter, gin and red vermouth.
• With freshly squeezed orange juice at brunch.

About the Essence

Compadre Rosso is a bestseller among our aperitif essences and indispensable for anyone who enjoys bitter cocktails. Bear in mind that it needs sugar when mixing – it is the sugar that gives the drink its proper, rounded body. Also available in 25 litres.

Store the finished bottle somewhere cool and dark, and the red colour will keep its lustre for a long time. And do not forget the orange – a slice or a strip of peel in the glass amplifies the citrus notes of the drink and makes the aroma even more inviting. With a bag of ice, a bottle of soda and Compadre Rosso, aperitif hour is sorted.