“People call Hybrid Saigon a hidden gem,” the cocktail bar’s senior bartender Duong, better known to guests as Zoe, tells us. “But to me it’s where chaos meets creativity.” To that, we might add another ‘c’ – Campari. Especially considering the light cascading into Hybrid during aperitivo hour across Saigon’s Notre Dame Cathedral. “Campari is sunshine in a glass with a bitter kick to keep things interesting,” Zoe adds. Similar to how Hybrid likes to keep things interesting with its cocktails.
“Right,” Zoe agrees, “Here, we focus on storytelling through techniques, textures, and local inspirations.”
Besides the signature menu – divided into ‘Classic,’ which are not classics in the normal sense; they’re the menu hits since Hybrid first opened across town (this is its second location) like the umami-rich Maestro Mushroom and the Pina Colada Old Fashioned kookily poured out of a coconut shell and its ‘Far Out’ menu of current adventurous cocktail creations – Zoe wouldn’t hesitate to make an Americano, on request.
An Accidental Masterpiece
The Americano is, arguably, cocktail history’s most accidental masterpiece. Born in 1860s Milan when an American tourist walked into Gaspare Campari’s bar expecting something long and refreshing. Instead he got handed straight Campari, and promptly declared it unsuitable.
A few tweaks later — adding vermouth, adding soda, adding ice — and they’d created the drink that would become James Bond’s go-to in Casino Royale. “It’s the most effortless cocktail,” Zoe explains, building one with equal parts Campari and sweet vermouth over ice, topped with soda. “Three ingredients, maximum flavor, minimum fuss.”
The result tastes like summer in Italy — bitter, bubbly, and unapologetically red. Bond always specified Perrier because, as author Ian Fleming wrote, expensive soda water was “the cheapest way to improve a poor drink.”
“To me, the Americano is like bartender’s water — refreshing, and always welcome,” Zoe nods approvingly. “It’s essentially a highball, but with so much more character. It’s bubbly and bittersweet – the perfect introduction to the Campari family tree, especially for someone just discovering aperitivo culture.”
An Americano Would Be My Choice
She’s so enamored, she admits, by the cocktail, she could survive on it on a desert island. “If I was stranded on a desert island, I’d definitely need sugar and water to survive — so yeah, an Americano would be my choice…”
And, although it’s ostensibly a simple beverage – Campari, sweet vermouth and soda – like anything pared back, getting it right is deceptively difficult.
“You missed two other key ingredients,” Zoe smiles mischievously, “balance and finesse!”
“You build it directly in a highball or a rocks glass over ice with 30ml Campari, 30ml sweet vermouth, and then you top it up with soda water,” she explains. “After that, you gently stir to mix and you can garnish with an orange slice to brighten the aroma. But even without it, the drink still stands strong.”
A Cocktail Royal Blood-Line With Commitment Issues
That drink sits contently on the Negroni family tree, a cocktail dynasty with such loose standards that anyone can marry into nobility.
It all started with the Milano-Torino in the 1860s. Then came that Americano, which added bubbles and ice because that American tourist had opinions.
But the real plot twist happened in 1919 when Count Camillo Negroni, at Caffè Casoni in Florence, told bartender Fosco Scarselli to swap the soda for gin. Revolutionary.
The Negroni was born — equal parts Campari, gin, and sweet vermouth, garnished with orange instead of lemon because counts have quirks.
From there, the family exploded. The Boulevardier replaced gin with whiskey. The Negroni Sbagliato (a ‘wrong’ Negroni) swapped gin for Prosecco. The White Negroni ditched the Campari for Suze and Lillet Blanc.
And each variation kept the bitter-sweet-boozy DNA while doing its own thing. Now, Campari Red Hands APAC 2025 challenges bartenders to expand this family tree even further, using these classics as the foundation for entirely new creations. Think of it as cocktail evolution in fast-forward — something Darwin would approve of.
More Than Mixing Drinks At Campari Red Hands 2025
But, again this year, Campari Red Hands APAC 2025 is asking bartenders to do more than simply mix a drink to grow the tree — they’re requesting competitors to create sensory spectacles.
Participants must craft cocktails that extend the Negroni family tree while engaging, especially, one of the five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound.
The winner takes home €3,000, gets their creation added to the official ‘Negroni Family Tree’ for 2025, and scores regional events plus guest shifts. It’s mixology meets performance art, with Campari as the starring ingredient (but any of its spirited buddies from other brands are welcome to join).
Something More Meaningful
Zoe entered Campari Red Hands 2024, and has some sage words of advice for contestants this year, starting with a careful consideration of the brief.
“I treat the brief like a creative challenge — not just to make a drink, but to tell a story,” she elaborates. “So, I start by asking: What does Campari represent at this moment? What emotions or values are they trying to spark? Then I connect that to something personal — something rooted in my culture, my identity, or to how I see the world behind the bar. From there, the drink, the concept, and the experience all evolve together,” she nods. “For me, it’s never just about flavors — it’s about something more meaningful.”
And so, at Campari Red Hands 2024, her drink packed as much Vietnamese flavor as it did Campari. “All in the service of creating a drink as a deep cultural exchange,” she adds quickly. “I wanted to show how two very different worlds — Italy’s bold aperitivo tradition and Vietnam’s vibrant, layered cuisine — could meet in one glass.”
To achieve that, she used Campari as a base, and layered in coffee, olive brine, some citrus, and paired it with chả lụa Vietnam, “creating contrasts of bitter, sweet, sour, and umami.” The result was a cocktail that felt unexpectedly fresh, but still respected Campari’s iconic profile.
Know Your Why…And Make It A Wow
The seemingly effortlessly produced and presented cocktail — the kind of breeziness of a Milanese during apiritivo hour — belied hours of meticulous preparation. “Know your why – and make it a ‘wow,’” she laughs. “By that I mean, make a statement. Don’t be yourself out there, be the champion!”
“Treat your cocktail like a showcase, because it’s not just the judges tasting it — it’s people from all around the world watching your performance.” And the best kind of showcase comes with, “a crazy amount of rehearsing, authenticity – especially around the presentation part – and some careful consideration for your energy, excited without being exaggerated.”
Drinks Davide Campari Could Approve Of
All things, it’s safe to assume, Davide Campari would approve of.
Born in 1820, he took over Milan’s Caffè dell’Amicizia in 1860 and created a secret bitter red liqueur from herbs, spices, and fruit peels. His genius wasn’t just the liquid — it was understanding that Italians needed a drink for that magical hour between work and dinner. He pretty much created aperitivo culture as much as he created Campari.
“It would be nice for him to be here today, to see how far his legacy has traveled — and how Vietnamese bartenders today are creating incredible flavors with his heritage. I hope he’d feel proud that Campari is not just living on, but evolving in ways that are bold, creative, and deeply rooted in culture,” Zoe smiles finally.
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