The best thing to drink right now…and what to call it

Originally published Aug 8, 2015

The Name Inspector is not a food writer like his friend Molly Watson. But he does like to eat and drink. And his favorite thing to drink lately is a concoction he came up with all by himself.

This drink has only two ingredients (three if you include ice) and The Name Inspector is almost certainly not even the first person to combine them. But he did come up with the combination independently, driven by a thirsty curiosity, and most importantly and topically, he came up with just the right name for the result.

This is the Sunburn. It consists of about two fingers of Campari in the bottom of a pint glass, plus some ice, topped by a bottle of beer. The Name Inspector likes to use a good IPA, because the hoppy bitterness combines surprisingly well with the bitter Campari.

Sounds kind of weird, right? Beer and Campari? But the thing is, the malt in the beer adds a warmth that Campari, which is all bitter and sweet, lacks. It’s also weird to combine beer and ice, but Campari really likes ice, so this works. If you like beer and you like Campari, try it.

And now about the name. First, this is a refreshing drink that you might enjoy while sitting in the sun. Also, Campari comes from sunny Italy, and the hops in IPA often come from the Cascade mountain range in the Pacific Northwest. Take a typical PNW resident, accustomed to very little sunlight in the winter months, and put them in a sunny place, and the result is sunburn. Plus, the drink has the color of a bad sunburn.

Just try it. If you like it, let others know about it.

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