In case you missed it: This simple Italian cocktail has taken over bar menus across the United States. Award-winning bar programs like that of New York City’s iconic Dante boast entire Negroni menus filled with creative, enticing variations on the bitter, slightly sweet cocktail.
In 2013 Campari, even teamed up with drinks publication Imbibe to launch Negroni week, an entire week in mid-September dedicated to celebrating the cocktail.
Like so many of us, cocktail hour became a ritual in our house pretty early on in 2020, a single buoy of normalcy that we could cling to in the otherwise choppy seas of navigating a pandemic. Negronis were a daily dalliance…[It’s] refreshing, not too boozy, and unerringly cheerful. Plus, it reminded us of Italy.
While the drink’s exact origins remain fairly uncertain, Negroni history says that its first recorded appearance dates all the way back to 1919. It’s said that Count Camillo Negroni, (yes, a real Count named Negroni), frequented a Florentine caffe where he often ordered an Americano. One afternoon, he asked the bartender to strengthen his Americano with gin in lieu of soda water, and thus, the Negroni came to be.
The balance between sweet and savory was both bracing and comforting. It was energetic yet not overly so, kissed with a subtle fruit character that was instantly cauterized by a backbone of taut bitterness, of juniper- and herb-borne depth.
Nowadays, there are several creative riffs on the classic Negroni, like the Negroni Sbagliato (also known as the Negroni Sbagliato with prosecco), as well as the Sour Cherry Negroni.
Ingredients
- 3/4 ounce gin (such as Ford’s)
- 3/4 ounce Campari
- 3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
- orange peel (for garnish)
Directions
- Fill a rocks glass with ice. Add the gin, vermouth and Campari and stir well. Garnish with the orange peel.
Negroni
The best Negroni recipe is sweet, earthy, and booze-forward.
Ingredients
- 3/4 ounce gin (such as Ford's)
- 3/4 ounce Campari
- 3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
- orange peel (for garnish)
Instructions
Fill a rocks glass with ice. Add the gin, vermouth and Campari and stir well. Garnish with the orange peel.