The non-alcoholic Americano

The Americano is Campari and sweet vermouth, topped with soda water and served over ice in a highball, with an orange slice or peel. It started in Milan in the 1860s at Gaspare Campari's bar, where it was first known as the Milano-Torino, after the home cities of Campari (Milan) and sweet vermouth (Turin). The usual story is that it was renamed for the American visitors who drank it.

It's also the direct ancestor of the Negroni. The story goes that Count Camillo Negroni asked for his Americano to be made stronger, with gin in place of the soda. Later, Ian Fleming had James Bond order Americanos in the early novels, starting with Casino Royale.

The Americano is made of three things, and each one needs a good non-alcoholic swap:

• The bitter (Campari) gives the drink its color, its bitter orange and gentian, and most of its character.
• The sweet vermouth adds spice, cherry and a little sweetness to balance the bitter.
• The soda stretches the drink and makes it refreshing.

In a non-alcoholic Americano:

• Bitterness has to hold up to dilution. Soda thins everything, so choose a bitter aperitivo with real bite.
• The vermouth needs body. Without alcohol, zero-proof vermouths can taste thin. Pick one with spice and weight.
• A pinch of salt helps. Two dashes of saline solution give the drink more body and make the bitterness taste rounder.
• Don't drown it. An ounce and a half each of bitter and vermouth with three ounces of soda is a good starting point. Add more soda to taste.

A Negroni is equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, stirred and served short over ice. An Americano has no gin, and is topped with soda water instead. That makes it much lighter, longer, lower in alcohol and more refreshing. In zero-proof terms, the Americano is easier to make well, because there's no gin to replace and less need for weight.

There's no bottled non-alcoholic Americano in our catalogue, but Italy has had a ready-made version of the idea for decades: bitter sodas.

Sanbittèr is the ruby-red bitter soda of Italian aperitivo hour, with bitter herbs and orange peel, and the most bitter of the Italian bitter sodas. Drink it straight, cut with soda or topped up into an Americano. With a splash of soda and an orange slice, it's the quickest non-alcoholic Campari soda there is.

Crodino is the other Italian classic: golden orange, bittersweet and lightly fizzy, with orange, cardamom and clove. It's softer than Sanbittèr, more like an Aperol soda.

Casamara Club Alta is a Negroni-flavored soda of chinotto, juniper, orris, mandarin and clove, and it's very dry. Poured over ice with an orange slice, it's a dry, fizzy Americano-style drink with almost no sugar.

St. Agrestis Phony Negroni can be stretched into an Americano. Pour half a bottle over ice and top with soda. It'll have a little juniper from the Negroni, but it's bitter, balanced and very quick.

The bitter (the Campari slot)

• Lyre's Italian Orange is the most direct non-alcoholic Campari substitute: the right bright red color, blood orange, rhubarb and gentian, with a clean bitter finish. It's a little sweet, but soda helps.
• Lapo's Aperitivo is a red bitter of Italian orange and gentian, with hibiscus, juniper and rhubarb root. It's bittersweet and a little tart.
• Ritual Aperitif Alternative is built to replace bright red bitters one-for-one, with orange blossom, rhubarb, charred grapefruit and a spiced finish.
• Fluere Bitter has a long quinine bitterness with orange zest, juniper and lime peel. It's good if you like a drier Americano.
• Martini Vibrante is lighter and more citrusy, with bergamot, bitter orange and chamomile. It's easy to find and very forgiving in a long drink like this. It's what we use in our house Americano.

The sweet vermouth

A good non-alcoholic sweet vermouth is harder to find than a good bitter. Our catalogue has two non-alcoholic vermouth rosso options.

• Roots Divino Rosso is properly bitter for a rosso, with cinnamon, clove and dark herbs. It's less sweet than most, and it holds up well to soda. It's our pick.
• Lyre's Aperitif Rosso is a rounder, sweeter stand-in, with cherry, clove, vanilla and bitter bark. Pair it with a more bitter aperitivo, or use a little less.

If you don't have a non-alcoholic sweet vermouth, you can make a simpler drink from a bitter aperitivo and soda alone. That's a non-alcoholic Campari soda, which is a classic in its own right.

The soda

Soda water or tonic? The classic Americano uses soda water, and so should you. Soda keeps the drink dry and lets the bitter and vermouth carry the flavor. Tonic adds sugar and a quinine bitterness of its own, which makes the drink sweeter and changes its character. If you like that, try it with Martini Vibrante, which is light enough to take it. Otherwise, stick to soda.

Use a freshly opened bottle of soda water or seltzer, as cold as possible.

A non-alcoholic Campari soda

The Americano's even simpler cousin is the Campari soda: just bitter and soda, no vermouth. For a non-alcoholic Campari soda, pour 2 oz of Lyre's Italian Orange or Lapo's Aperitivo over ice and top with 4 oz of soda and an orange slice. It's drier and more bitter than an Americano, and it's a good way to taste a new bitter aperitivo on its own before you mix with it. A bottle of Sanbittèr with an equal splash of soda gets you the same drink with no measuring.

Sweetness adds up across the two bottles, so match them against each other.

• Lyre's Italian Orange + Roots Divino Rosso. A sweeter bitter with the drier vermouth. Balanced, bright and bitter. This is our favorite pairing.
• Lyre's Italian Orange + Lyre's Aperitif Rosso. The easiest to like: rounder, sweeter and more familiar. Add saline and don't go heavy on the soda.
• Fluere Bitter + Lyre's Aperitif Rosso. Fluere's quinine and juniper balance the Lyre's vanilla and cherry.
• Martini Vibrante + Roots Divino Rosso. Light, citrusy and not too sweet. The easiest to find, and our house recipe.
• Lapo's Aperitivo + Roots Divino Rosso. Tart and spicy, with hibiscus from the Lapo's and clove from the Roots.

Use a highball or Collins glass and fill it with ice. Plenty of ice keeps the drink cold and slows dilution.

Chill the bottles. Keep the bitter and vermouth in the fridge. Open non-alcoholic vermouth doesn't have alcohol to preserve it, so check the label for how long it keeps once open.

Build it in the glass. Pour the bitter and vermouth over the ice, stir briefly, then top with soda and lift once from the bottom.

Garnish with orange. A half-wheel of orange is traditional. A twist of peel expressed over the top gives more aroma.

Our house Americano uses Martini Vibrante and Roots Divino Rosso. It's light, bittersweet and easy to make with bottles you can find in stores.

For a more classic, bittersweet version, the Lyre's Americano uses Lyre's Italian Orange and Aperitif Rosso, with saline for body:

And if you have a bottle of Sanbittèr in the fridge, this is the fastest good Americano we know:

If any of these taste thin, use less soda. If they taste sweet, use Roots in the vermouth slot or add a splash more bitter.

• Negroni. Add non-alcoholic gin and skip the soda for the stronger, stirred version.
• Sbagliato. Swap the soda for non-alcoholic sparkling wine. It's a little richer and fruitier.
• Boulevardier. A Negroni with whiskey in place of gin, for when you want something darker.
• Spritz. Bitter aperitivo, sparkling wine and soda, with no vermouth.
• Pink Americano. There's no single recipe, but the name is usually used for a lighter, pinker take. Try half soda and half Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Sparkling Rosé for a virgin pink Americano.

An Americano is easy for any bar that stocks a non-alcoholic bitter and vermouth, and Italian-style bars often keep Sanbittèr or Crodino. These alcohol-free bars are a good place to start: