Recipe from Italopunk by Vanja van der Leeden
The negroni is a quintessential Italian cocktail with equal parts Campari, vermouth, and gin. You love it or you hate it. If you are in the latter camp, then you are probably an Aperol lover. I think of the negroni as my drink. It is ultra strong, bittersweet, aromatic, and you are drunk almost immediately after one glass. Cin cin! It is a kind of kamikaze version of the Americano (a cocktail with vermouth, Campari, and soda water). Back in 1919, Florentine Count Camillo Negroni felt like something stronger than an Americano, so the bartender replaced the soda with gin and the rest is history. At least that’s how the story goes. At the fashionable Caffè Gilli in Florence, you can get the legendary negroni from bartender Luca Picchi, who also wrote a book about it.
When I lived in Florence, I routinely drank two with my friend Pietro during aperitivo, only to invariably arrive late for our dinner dates. Times are changing. Italians these days are on time, and I haven’t had two Negronis for years. Now when I treat myself to a negroni, I sip it. Over the years I have perfected it by adding just a little more red vermouth to take the edge off of the bitterness. I soak a sprig of rosemary in the vermouth for a few hours ahead of time to make it more flavorful.
1 to 2 large ice cubes
2 tablespoons gin
2 ½ tablespoons red vermouth (e.g. Carpano) infused for a few hours with 1 sprig rosemary
2 tablespoons Campari
1 slice orange
Ahead of time, place a highball glass, such as a whiskey glass, in the freezer for a while to get cold.
Plop a large ice cube into the chilled glass. Pour in the gin, infused vermouth, and Campari. Squeeze the orange slice above the glass and add. Stir well with a sprig of rosemary, and then comes the very hardest moment: wait a very short time. Just a few minutes, so the orange can release its flavor and the ice can chill the cocktail. Salute.
TIP
Buy a mold for large ice cubes. Small ice cubes melt faster and make the negroni watery.
VARIATIONS
Instead of gin, add sparkling water for an Americano.
For a negroni sbagliato (wrong negroni) add prosecco instead of gin.
Replace the gin with vodka and you have a negroski.
Finally, for a Campari spritz (which doesn’t have much to do with a negroni, except that it also contains Campari)
mix ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (90 ml) of prosecco with ¼ cup (60 ml) of Campari and possibly a splash of sparkling water.
Finish with a slice of orange.
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