How to make the perfect Negroni

Origins of the Negroni Cocktail

The history of the Negroni cocktail dates back 1919 in Italy, in the Caffè Casoni in Florence. A particularly flamboyant Count Camillo Negroni walked into the Caffè Casoni and requested that the bartender Fosco Scarselli create something a little stronger than his favourite Americano cocktail.

Using the Americano cocktail as a base, Fosco swapped gin instead of soda water and then changed the lemon garnish to orange marking the invention of the Negroni cocktail.

Flavour Profile

Orson Welles once wrote that “The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.”.

The Negroni is a simple cocktail to make but has great complexity and balance in flavours thanks to the 1:1:1 ratio of ingredients. The Negroni is a bitter tasting cocktail with a fruity sweetness brought through the vermouth and orange garnish.

When do you drink Negroni

The Negroni was designed to be a Apertif, so it is best enjoyed before a meal particularly in those warm summer months, however there are man fans of the cocktail who enjoy this as a digestive too.

Tips before you get started

Before you get started there is one important thing to note, a Negroni is stirred and never shaken.

Negroni can be served perfectly on the rocks however it is worth using larger ice cubes to avoid dilution in those hot summer months.

To get the best out of this cocktail, make sure that you use a good quality gins such as Sipsmith or Bombay Sapphire. You also want to make sure that your vermouth is sweet and that your Campari measures up to the quality of the other ingredients.

Many people ask if you can use Aperol instead of Campari, the short answer is yes if you would like a lighter summery version of the Negroni simply substitute the Campari with Aperol from the ingredients below.

Ingredients

• 25ml gin
• 25ml sweet vermouth
• 25ml Campari
• Orange slice or twist for garnish
• Ice (optional)

Method

- Take a short glass tumbler and add ice (if preferred)
- Add all of your ingredients
- Gently stir for about a minute to all the drink to be chilled
- Then Garnish with a slice or twist of orange peel