Ingredients

  • 20ml sweet vermouth
  • 20ml Campari
  • 20ml gin

Process Steps

  1. Roll all the ingredients together over ice in a shaker
  2. Pour into a rocks glass over cubed ice
  3. Garnish with an orange twist

Legends say that the Negroni drink originated in Florence, Italy in 1919 at Caffè Casoni, then known as Caffè Giacosa. According to historical records, the popular Negroni drink was created by Pascal Olivier Count de Negroni. He lived in London, but was known to travel across America. One day, Pascal Olivier Count de Negroni asked bartender Fosco Scarselli to make his favourite cocktail (the Americano) a bit stronger by replacing soda water with gin. Additionally, Scarselli used an orange garnish rather than the standard lemon garnish for the Americano to indicate that this new creation was a unique drink. Everyone began to flock to the establishment to try the hybrid drink, which became known as a Negroni. Following the success of the Negroni, the Negroni family established Negroni Distillerie in Treviso, Italy, and created a ready-made version of the drink known as Antico Negroni.

The Negroni recipe includes gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. Negroni is a bitter cocktail, but the vermouth and orange garnish provide enough fruity sweetness to balance out the bitterness. The Negroni tastes herby and slightly rooty, with the presence of some deep dark fruit flavours. Gin is also apparent, providing the classic juniper tang, as well as lemon and coriander seed. Negroni is best recommended to someone who likes strong flavours, but with a nice balance of bitterness and sweetness.

What are the ingredients of a Negroni?

Listed below are the following ingredients of a Negroni.

  • 20ml Gin: Gin is a distilled alcoholic drink with a primary flavour that comes from juniper berries.
  • 20ml Campari: Campari is an alcoholic liqueur from Italy that is served as an apéritif. It is made by infusing herbs and fruits such as chinotto and cascarilla in a mixture of alcohol and water.
  • 20ml Sweet vermouth: Sweet vermouth is also referred to as red vermouth or Italian vermouth due to its colour and origin. It has a much sweeter flavour than dry vermouth and can contain up to 15% sugar.

1. 20ml gin

Gin is necessary for making a Negroni because it adds more botanicals and alcohol to the drink. Gin has a piney-like flavour due to the juniper berries that are used in the distillation process. Gin contains at least 40% alcohol by volume and has 49 calories per 20ml. There are many great gins to choose from when making a Negroni, including Fords Gin, Broker's Gin, Ferdinand's Saar Dry Gin, Tanqueray No. 10, Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin, Sipsmith V.J.O.P, Nikka Coffey, Barr Hill Gin, Nolet's Silver Dry Gin, F.E.W. Breakfast Gin, and Rose Sainte Marie.

2. 20ml Campari

Campari is necessary for making a Negroni. Campari is the only ingredient in a Negroni that should never be changed, as a Negroni would not be the classic cocktail if it did not include Campari. Campari smells bitter in the same way that orange rinds and bitter greens do. It has a strong bittersweet flavour with orange peel, cherry, clove, and cinnamon notes. Campari contains 20.5–28.5% alcohol by volume and has 80 calories per 1 fluid.

3. 20ml sweet vermouth

The perfect Negroni should always be made with a red, sweet, Italian-style vermouth that has enough weight and spice to hold up against the Campari. Sweet vermouth has heartier spice notes such as vanilla, caramel, and darker fruits. It has a richer, fuller flavour than typical dry vermouth. Sweet Vermouth contains 16–22% alcohol by volume and 17 calories. There are many options for quality sweet vermouths when making a Negroni, including Carpano Antica Formula, Cocchi Storico Vermouth Di Torino, 1757 Vermouth Di Torino Rosso, Vermouth Routin Original Rouge, Vermouth Volume Primo, Vya Vermouth Aperitif Sweet, and La Pivon Vermouth Rojo.

How to make a Negroni?

Preparing a Negroni has never been easier thanks to this recipe, so don't miss it and make the most out of your cocktail!

1. Roll all the ingredients together over ice in a shaker.
2. Pour into a rocks glass over cubed ice.
3. Garnish with an orange twist.

1. Roll all the ingredients together over ice in a shaker.

Add the 20ml gin, 20ml Campari, and 20ml sweet vermouth to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and stir until well chilled. A perfectly poured Campari, gin, and vermouth will deliver a drink that is adequately balanced in terms of sweetness, bitterness, and floral and herbal aromatics. Campari has a strong taste, so adding a bold gin is the best recommendation to compete with it. Add a good quality of vermouth to hold up against the Campari. After pouring all the ingredients, the bartender should stir to dilute the drink and bring the temperature down. Don't shake in the cocktail shaker because the balance of flavour will be completely lost as well as the flavour profile. This will also cause the drink to become too cold, trapping some flavours and losing the delicate aromatic nuances created.

2. Pour into a rocks glass over cubed ice.

Strain the mixture from the cocktail shaker into a rocks glass filled with large ice cubes. Straining the drink into the glass is necessary to dilute it slightly, but it is not necessary if small ice cubes are used that melt quickly. Large ice cubes should be put in the prepared rocks glass because they melt at a slower rate, introducing less immediate water content into the drink.

3. Garnish with an orange twist.

Take an orange peel and use it as a garnish. First, twist the peel over the glass to release the oils then put it in the Negroni. The orange peel creates an exceptional aromatic drinking experience.

What nutritional benefit can you get from drinking a Negroni?

There is no nutritional benefit from drinking a Negroni, but the bitter taste of the drink may provide health and metabolic benefits by improving digestion and toning the internal organs. One Negroni cocktail has 200 calories.

What are the different variations of Negroni?

There are multiple variations of Negroni, including Negroni Sbagliato, White Negroni,  Count Mast Negroni, Bermuda Hundred, TiNegroni, Americano, Contessa, Boulevardier, Old Pal, Pink Negroni, and Amber Negroni. To variate a Negroni, bartenders should use sparkling wine instead of gin for a bungled Negroni, or bourbon instead of gin for a Boulevardier. Use Aperol instead of Campari and dry vermouth instead of sweet vermouth for a Contessa. The Negroni is similar to some other cocktails, including Cappelletti Cocktail, Aperol Spritz, and Massimi (Cynar Cocktail).

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