The Viral ‘Beericano’ Is a Riff on a Riff

Social media has pumped out several viral drinks this year. There’s the Jalapeno Sauvignon Blanc, the golfer-loved Water Hazard, the chain restaurant-inspired Crisp Martini, and dozens of other adult beverage hits.

Recently there’s a new kid on the viral block that isn’t new at all. The trending “Beericano,” made with Campari, sweet vermouth, and most often a crisp pilsner, has actually been around for years.

“This isn’t my cocktail,” explains Justin Sajda, the bartender behind the Thirsty Whale social media handle who’s been credited for the Beericano’s recent success. “It’s basically an Americano Perfecto, but I don’t think that’s a catchy name, so I called the one I made a Beericano.”

The Beericano adds frothed beer on top of standard Americano Perfecto ingredients, resulting in an Instagram-ready looking drink with its reddish liquid hue and enticing layer of foam on top. But otherwise, it’s just clever rebranding.

So where did the OG Beericano come from? That’s credited to mixologist Damon Boelte, co-owner of Grand Army Bar in Brooklyn, who started making the drink when he was at the now shuddered Prime Meats in New York.

“Someone asked me if I was aware of this cocktail,” says Robby Dow, former beverage director at Grand Army and owner of Bespoke in Wilmington, North Carolina, with a laugh. “And I said yes, I’ve been making it since the twenty teens.”

The Beericano’s Long History

Boelte named his drink the Americano Perfecto, Dow says, because it was a riff on the classic Americano cocktail, a simple mix of soda water, Campari, and vermouth.

But if you back up even further in cocktail history, you’ll find that this latest iteration is just one in a long line of drink evolution.

“The first one of them all was the Milano Torino,” Dow says, “which was equal parts Campari and vermouth.” Adding soda water birthed the Americano, which was followed by swapping soda water for gin for the Negroni’s debut. From there, the Negroni Sbagliato rose to popularity in the 1970s at Bar Basso in Milan by making another swap, this time Prosecco instead of gin or soda water.

Whew. Following all that?

Boelte swapped beer as the third ingredient to make his Americano Perfecto, and now bartenders like Sajda and Chris Leavitt, otherwise known as Not Just a Bartender on social, have added beer foam and dubbed it a “Beericano.”

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“I personally never heard of the Americano Perfecto until a few people commented about it on my video,” says Leavitt, whose video making the drink has racked up over 1.5 million views.

Making an ‘Oldie but a Goodie’ Go Viral

So why has this version of the drink suddenly popped off? Sajda and Leavitt have a few guesses.

“For one, it’s a sexy-looking drink,” Leavitt says. “I also think the name ‘Beericano’ is simple, memorable, and fun, and any time you have a high brow/low brow moment done well, it resonates with a wider audience.”

Sajda agrees. “Viral cocktails usually have a catchy name and simple ingredients,” he says, noting that he doesn’t think cocktails can become classics without “good names.” But beyond that, he says a general curiosity over what a drink like this might taste like drives interest, too. If you’re wondering, it’s slightly bitter thanks to the Campari, but light and refreshing overall thanks to the hoppiness of the beer.

It’s a catch-22 for the original creators of a drink, says Dow.

“I am pro spreading drinking culture and all for people drinking drinks like this,” he says. “But it’s not super cool that there’s not even a nod that it’s a cocktail from a bartender who had this idea over a decade ago that was all over the internet then.”

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He’s not saying that influencers have to have original recipes necessarily, but does wish there was a bit of credit given where it’s due.

Here’s how to make a Beericano at home.