Negroni: Cocktail Classic

Bitter.  Beautiful.  Alcoholic.  This cocktail has become a go-to as part of the gin resurgence sweeping the globe and for good reasons.  There is now an entire week dedicated to the drink, which started in the USA in 2013 and now circles the globe.

This Italian-born aperitif is made from a mix of equal parts of Gin, Vermouth, and Campari.  The story goes that in 1919 Camillo Negroni, an Italian Count and a bit of a cowboy, walks into an cafe and asks for his usual Americano to be a bit stiffer.  An Americano is usually made with soda water, Vermouth, Campari, and bitters but bartender swaps in gin for soda water and voila! A cult cocktail classic is born.

Why has the cocktail become so popular?  Part luck, part marketing, and part because it’s a damn fine cocktail.  The luck aspect is from gin’s popularity exploding again along with bitters being pushed by Angostura.  The marketing aspect takes the form of the Campari brand, which is a multi-billion dollar per year drink conglomerate, declaring 2011 the Year-of-the-Negroni.  With its marketing might in full steam, a once obscure cocktail enters the mainstream.  Imbide Magazine piggy-backs off this in 2013 and creates Negroni week every year in June, catapulting the cocktail onto menus around the globe.

The cocktail is indeed downright delicious and packs a punch.  You can expect your drink to be 24% ABV or 48 proof, depending on the country you are in and the gin you are using.  While it is bitter, the orange garnish helps to provide balance and a hint of sweetness.  In our opinion, it is deservedly sits as one of the world’s best cocktails.

How do you make one?  Check out our video and recipe below:

The recipe:

30ml Gin

30ml Campari

30ml Vermouth

Orange peel

Pour gin, vermouth and Campari into a mixing glass. Add ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass and garnish with an orange peel.

If you want to know more, read up on the full history of the Negroni with Luca Pichi’s book: Negroni Cocktail.  An Italian legend.