Milano-Torino Cocktail, Grassi’s Shaken Campari and Vermouth, 1936
Reader ratingsHalf Turin vermouth, four tenths Campari and one tenth Piedmont grappa, shaken and served with lemon peel: a Lugano bartender’s own Milano-Torino of 1936, a cousin of the Negroni.
- Recipe makes
- 1 small drink, about 2 1/2 fl oz
- Prep
- Total
Milano-Torino with a strip of lemon peel in a small round stemmed glass, beside half a lemon.
The story behind the recipe
Grassi’s Milano-Torino is a Negroni with grappa in place of gin, shaken instead of stirred: half Turin vermouth, four tenths Campari and one tenth Piedmont grappa, served with lemon peel. Elvezio Grassi of the Bar Argentino in Lugano printed it in 1000 misture in 1936 and marked it “(Serie Grassi),” the tag for his own recipes.
Milan meets Turin
The name is the pairing. Campari came from Milan and sweet vermouth from Turin, and the two together are the base of the Americano and the Negroni. Grassi’s book also prints a long Milano Torino, Campari and red vermouth with plenty of soda water, which is the Americano’s shape. In his cocktail he adds a dash of Piedmont’s own spirit and puts it all in the shaker: “Agitare nel shaker.” The Negroni’s own murky beginnings are told in Cocktails in 1920s London and Paris.
Read more about this recipe
Making it today
Shaking makes it colder and a little lighter than a stirred Negroni, with a thin froth that settles. It is about 18% ABV. Use a plain, unaged grappa; Grassi’s “acquavite di Piemonte” is a grape spirit.
Milano-Torino Cocktail (Serie Grassi). Agitare nel shaker con ghiaccio: 50% Vermouth Torino. 10% Acquavite di Piemonte. 40% Bitter Campari. Servite con buccia limone.
Our translation: Shake with ice: 50% Turin vermouth, 10% Piedmont grappa, 40% Campari. Serve with lemon peel.
Recipe makes: 1 small drink, about 2 1/2 fl oz
Ingredients
For 1 small drink, about 2 1/2 fl oz. Quantities are shown as written.
Quantities as written here, for 1 small drink, about 2 1/2 fl oz.
- Sweet (Turin) vermouth1 1/4 fl oz
- Grappa1/4 fl oz
- Campari1 fl oz
- Ice cubes1 cup
- Strip lemon peel1
Measurement notes
Ingredients as written here
- 1 1/4 fl oz sweet (Turin) vermouth
- 1/4 fl oz grappa
- 1 fl oz Campari
- 1 cup ice cubes
- 1 strip lemon peel
Equipment
Cocktail shaker and strainer
Small stemmed cocktail glass, about 3 fl oz
Instructions
Chill a small stemmed cocktail glass in the freezer or with ice water.
Put the ice cubes in a cocktail shaker and add the sweet (Turin) vermouth, grappa and Campari.
Close the shaker and shake well for about 10 seconds.
Empty the glass if it holds ice water and strain the drink into it.
Twist the lemon peel over the glass, drop it in and serve.
Nutrition
140calories per serving
- Recipe makes
- 1 small drink, about 2 1/2 fl oz
Estimated from typical label values for sweet vermouth, Campari and grappa, for one drink.
Recipe notes
When adjusting quantities
This is one small drink. Keep the shares the same when you scale, and shake no more than two at a time.
Notes
Quantities mentioned in these notes don’t change when you adjust the batch.
Grassi gives shares, not measures; his cocktail glasses hold 70 to 80 grams, so the shares here add up to 2 1/2 fl oz. For a stirred version, closer to a Negroni, stir the same three with ice for 20 seconds, our option.
Grassi’s book also has thirst-quenchers with no alcohol, among them Bianco e Nero, orgeat and tamarind syrup with soda water.
Scaling changes the ingredients only; glassware, ice and timings need their own judgment. To adapt this recipe further, try the recipe tool at TuneMyRecipe (opens in a new tab), our sister site.
Sources and attribution
Elvezio Grassi, 1000 misture (Bologna: Licinio Cappelli, 1936), pp. 78–79, “Milano-Torino Cocktail (Serie Grassi)”; translation ours
Recipe details
- Drink family
- Cocktails & Mixed Drinks
- Region
- Italian
- Source decade
- 1930s
- Base
- Wine
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Occasion
- Dinner party