How to make a chocolate Campari infusion

Want a bit of chocolate in your liquor but don’t want to buy an actual chocolate liqueur? Try this cocoa nib infused Campari.

If you are a fan of chocolate, you’ll know cocoa nibs (or cacao nibs) - those bits of fermented, dried and roasted bits of cocoa bean. If you were making chocolate, you would ground the nibs into a paste, add sugar and voila. The nibs themselves are not sweet at all - they’re a bit crunchy but still have that dark chocolate taste. Think of them like chocolate chips but minus the sugar. You’ll find them in most health food stores and in fact, even the health food aisles of major supermarkets like Woolworths will sell them (a pack of Macro Organic cacao nibs go for about $5 or so)

You can pretty much infuse any alcohol with the cocoa nibs. They’re great for imparting a chocolate-y texture and taste to most booze - for this one, we chose to do a cocoa nib infused Campari. The Italian herbal aperitif is perfect for the experiment. On its own, Campari can be quite sharp and its bitterness can be quite polarising, though many will recognise the deep red colour. It’s an indispensable part of many a classic cocktail, like the Negroni, Boulevardier and Americano. The cocoa nib infusion actually softens the sharpness of the Campari, and lends almost a silky texture.

What you need

• A tablespoon of cocoa nibs

• 350ml Campari

How to infuse Campari with cocoa nibs

• Drop the cocoa nibs into the Campari in a glass jug.

• Let it sit overnight (about 12 hours).

• Strain out the cocoa nibs and re-bottle the Campari. This will keep like your normal Campari.

Made it? Try this in the Chocolate Boulevardier.