As some of you may have gathered, the classic Negroni cocktail is one of my favourite gin serves. Seeing as 2019 is the 100th anniversary of the Negroni cocktail, I’m very happy to be exploring the breadth of this simple cocktail with you in this post. I even dyed my hair the colour of my favourite drink! #sponsoredbynegroni – not!
Cheers to the bitter beauty that is the Negroni
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Negroni cocktail in 2019 #N100
This post covers:
What is a Negroni?
A Negroni cocktail is *classically* three equal parts of gin, Campari and sweet (red) vermouth. These are stirred with ice and then served in a rocks class with a slice of fresh orange. That’s the classic way to serve a Negroni, however there are literally hundreds of variations that can be done (and that’s before you switch out the gin for other spirits!). We’ll talk about these more below…
Classic Italian aperitivo – a Negroni served with a plate of nibbles pre dinner
The history of the Negroni cocktail:
The story goes a little something like this:
Step back to 1919’s Florence, the Count Negroni had a bit of a shit week and needed something stronger than the classic Americano cocktail. So he asked the barman to replace the soda water with gin and the cocktail ‘in the style of Count Negroni’, eventually shortened to the Negroni, was born.
The Americano cocktail itself is a an ‘Americanised’ version of the classic Italian Milano-Turino. A mix of the Campari bitter from Milan and the sweet Vermouth from Turino. The result was a little too bitter for American tourists visiting Italy on their Grand Tours, and so they added soda water to lengthen and offset the bitterness (the salt in the soda water also reduces the bitter flavours). According to the Italians, this American obsession with adding water also led to the Americano coffee (espresso lengthened with extra hot water).
Is it true?
Now the story of how the Negroni cocktail came to be and the actual background of the Count Negroni has been under much scrutiny. This article from the Drinking Cup cites new evidence that the story above is essentially true. However another branch of the Negroni family still disputes this, saying their Count Negroni invented the Negroni cocktail in Senegal.
Whichever story you believe/like, one thing is certain – the Negroni is having it’s time now!
Negroni variations
As mentioned above there are so many variations that can be made simply by switching up one or all three of the ingredients. Depending on the gin you are using you will still get a variation in the drink’s character, ideally all elements need to be balanced. E.g. maybe switch out the Campari for Aperol if you are looking for a sweeter version, or using a lighter floral gin. Or amp up the gin impact by doubling it to the other spirit measures (incidentally this is the house pour at Dark Horse cocktail bar in Bath – a little extreme if you do as I did with Sipsmith VJOP!)
Or have your Negroni served in an ice ball, as I did at The Spiritualist in Glasgow:
(not recommended for any flavour reason – purely for the gimmick!)
Recommended Negroni variations from the people that drink gin!
If, like me, you’d rather not #cheatongin, then here are some variations on the Negroni recipe as recommended by my favourite gin bloggers and instagrammers:
White Negroni
Not for those in the #nonegroniwithoutCampari camp. The ‘white’ (it’s more yellow in colour in reality) Negroni uses different ‘bitter’ elements, such as Suze or Cocchi Americano in place of the brightly coloured Campari. Depending on which bitter element you use, it then requires balancing with a white vermouth. You might choose a sweet vermouth with Suze or a drier vermouth with the Cocchi.
- 50ml Whitley Neill
- 15ml Suze
- 10ml Italicus
- 10ml Roots Mastiha
- 5ml Cocchi Americano
Combine ingredients and stir with ice. Serve in a rocks glass, garnished with either basil leaves or as above with rosemary.
[NOTE: The Oliver Conquest is now under new management, so don’t expect sublime cocktails like this anymore]
From Matt of The Gin Shelf, the Plymouth gin White Negroni alternative.
Plymouth White Negroni
- 50ml Plymouth Gin
- 50ml Suze
- 50ml Dolin Blanc
For a smaller serve, drop measures to 30ml ?? (Matt does like his negroni’s large! I would normally do 25ml of each of the ingredients)
Sloe Negroni
Plymouth 50/50, as named by Matt from The Gin Shelf.
Plymouth 50/50 Negroni with sloe gin
For a large or small just adjust the measures, but always equal:
. 25ml or 15ml Plymouth Navy Strength gin
. 25ml or 15ml Plymouth Sloe gin
. 50ml or 30ml Campari
. 50ml or 30ml Antica Formula vermouth
For a slightly deeper cherry flavour, you can swap out Antica Formula for Byrrh ??
Another variation using Sloe gin in place of the vermouth from Inka from On the Sauce Again:
Blood Orange Negroni
Orange goes so well with Campari, that this had to happen! With the launch of several Orange, & even specifically Blood Orange, gins in 2018 this is a natural evolution of the Negroni.