Bottled buzz

The New York Times calls it "summer in a bottle," a "rare example of improving on an already perfect cocktail."

The author is poetically smitten over a bottle-carbonated Americano soda, a refreshing, low-alcohol tipple comprised of a simple mix of water, Campari, sweet vermouth and orange.

Cynthia Turner, the bar manager at the Magnetic Field, has ventured into the bottle-carbonated trend herself. The bar now offers its own version of the effervescent Americano, served in its frosty glass vessel.

Bottled adult beverages, in general, are taking off in the drink world as a way to add a little innovation and soda-bar nostalgia to cocktail hour. It provides ease for both sides of the bar — drinks are served as quickly as you can pry off the top. "For some bars that have a certain drink that they sell a lot, this is a good way to pre-batch it," says Turner. "It's ready to go, you can chill it, the water assimilation is already done in the bottle and capped."

They're also fun, fizzy and essentially spill-free as long as you keep them reasonably upright.

Turner says that she's looking into developing other house-bottled cocktails for the Magnetic Field. Ideas include a Fernet Branca (a botanical liquor that's wildly popular in Argentina) mixed with a homemade cola, maybe some bottle-carbonated gin and tonics. "I keep trying to slowly progress the bar program forward," she says.

For now, the Americano is a hot seller, says Turner, as long as people can get past the carmine-colored Campari. "Not everyone is a fan," says Turner. "But the Americano is delicious — you just have to understand Campari and like it.” Campari, an Italian apèritif, is bitter and botanical, flavored with citrus fruits and quickly becoming the revival mixer of the moment (in fact, we’ve provided three cocktail recipes that contain it in this section — get thee to the ABC). The writers of the Bitten Word blog, inspired by the June 2012 issue of Bon Appetit, have anointed Campari and gin their newly anointed cocktail of the summer .

Bottle-carbonated Americano

(makes about 6 4-oz drinks)

In a small glass pitcher combine:

4 1/2 oz Campari
6 oz sweet vermouth
13 1/2 oz water
One orange zested with a vegetable peeler, then peeled (pith removed, reserve zest)

Mix ingredients together and chill, covered overnight. Remove orange zest and carbonate according to manufacturer's directions. Serve the drink in the bottle.

Campari and gin

(via Campari.com)

2 parts Campari
1 part gin
Ice
Orange wedge

Done.