Campbell Creamsicle Cocktails
Having been a word nerd from a young age, I love to throw around adjectives that might seem a little highfalutin’ for the situation, but the word “incongruous” has been running through my mind ever since I sipped this cocktail.
And since this happened long before the Christmas holidays rolled around, you can tell I’ve been thinking about this word–and this drink–for a while.
It was autumn when I met up with my fellow oyster- and booze-lover Autumn, following through on our plan to introduce her to the architectural and gustatory glories of the Grand Central Oyster Bar.
Feeling a bit grandiose and celebratory after filling our stomachs with chilled oyster bellies, we repaired upstairs to the Campbell Apartment, another of Manhattan’s semi-hidden treasures.
The Campbell Apartment, despite what its name implies, was never a private apartment.
Back in the 1920s, when titans of industry could do such things as live in buildings like Grand Central, banker and railroad magnate John W. Campbell used the rooms as his private office and salon.
Now it’s a bar–er, excuse me, it’s a “cocktail lounge.”
It’s a dark, imposing space with high ceilings, double-height leaded glass windows, walls lined in deep, walnut-toned wood, and is often filled with Midtowny masters of the universe in their button-down shirts.
Swank, old-world power and masculinity is very much on display at the Campbell Apartment; it’s the kind of place where you want to drink a Manhattan or at the very least, a nice tumbler of Scotch.
Yet somehow I ended up ordering the girliest thing on the menu.
Clearly inspired by the classic Italian Aperol spritz, the drink I chose mixed the bitter aperitvo Aperol with another Italian standard, Carpano Antica vermouth, and a healthy glug of fresh blood orange juice.
The bitter Aperol fell to the background, the warm cinnamon-and-vanilla notes of the Carpano blended with the orange juice, and the whole thing became a refreshingly sweet drink that… well, it tasted like a Creamsicle in a glass.
Drinking a sugary pink cocktail would have been appropriate for a beach bar or even a patio somewhere in Brooklyn, but in the middle of Manhattan’s most manly, swank, and historic spaces felt very out of place.
Hence the words incongruous, contradictory, out of place, running through my head.
But damn if the drink wasn’t good. If it weren’t $14, I do believe I would have ordered another.
Luckily, these Creamsicle cocktails are cinch to make at home, with only three ingredients necessary to transport you to a sunny clime… or a dark, opulent wood-and-marble-paneled bar in a landmark setting, as you do.
Carpano’s a pricey bottle of liquor to buy, but it lasts for a few months in the refrigerator, so it’s a worthwhile outlay of cash.
And if blood oranges aren’t in season, feel free to substitute Cara Caras, Valencias, or the juice from plain old navel oranges in the Creamsicle cocktails. Just make sure to juice ’em fresh for the drink.
Campbell Creamsicle Cocktails
For a fancy and grown-up version of an orange soda, make Creamsicle cocktails with fresh blood orange juice, Aperol, and sweet vermouth.
Ingredients
- 1 cup freshly squeezed and strained blood orange juice (from 4-5 oranges), plus orange wheels for garnish
- 1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) Carpano Antica vermouth
- 2 tablespoons (1 fluid ounce) Aperol
- plain or orange seltzer
Instructions
- Fill two rocks glasses or highball glasses with crushed ice or small ice cubes.
- Stir the blood orange juice, Carpano, and Aperol together in a pint glass or half of a Boston shaker.
- Pour evenly between the two prepared glasses and top with seltzer.
- Garnish with orange wheels.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 130Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 4mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 3gSugar: 23gProtein: 2g
The nutritional information above is computer-generated and only an estimate.
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Casey Barber
Casey Barber is the owner and founder of Good Food Stories LLC and a visual storyteller whose work often focuses on the intersection of food and culture. She is also the author of the cookbooks Pierogi Love: New Takes on an Old-World Comfort Food and Classic Snacks Made from Scratch: 70 Homemade Versions of Your Favorite Brand-Name Treats, and she couldn’t get anything done without the help of her executive assistant cats, Bixby and Lenny. Her favorite color is obviously orange.
Casey a girlie girl? Well I never.
I have all of these ingredients at home. I must make one this evening. I love Campari and Aperol is like the little sister to it – same taste but just a little milder in flavor. It is great mixed with Prosecco.
Love Campbell Apartment – thanks for this fun recipe!
$14?? Wow, totally a reason to make them in the comfort of your home :)
Sounds amazing, Casey! And yikes, $14…will definitely be making these at home!
I got all excited and thought these would be actual creamsicles! Now I have a sweet project to develop one of these weekends. :)
Duh, Steph, the recipe for actual Creamsicles is in Classic Snacks Made from Scratch!
Well yes, but boozy blood orange creamsicles?! I might just have to modify the recipe a bit. ;) I wonder how much booze I can add before they don’t freeze solid?
I was wondering the same thing about the booze. Carpano’s 33 proof and Aperol’s 22 proof, so it’s not like they’re up there with tequila – maybe start with a tablespoon of each as a test freeze?