The Negroni - The Classic Recipe

Cool the old fashioned tumbler and your mixing glass by filling them with ice cubes up to three-quarters full. To speed up the cooling, you can spin the ice with the bar spoon (the classic bartender's spoon with a long, twisted handle). Leave the glass aside while you prepare the cocktail.

Drain the excess water from the mixing glass with the help of the strainer (the classic bartender spring that is used to hold the ice still and let the water formed inside escape).

Measure with the jigger and pour 1 oz (30 ml) of gin into the mixing glass.

Using a jigger, measure and pour 1 oz (30 ml) of sweet red vermouth into the mixing glass.

Using a jigger, measure and pour 1 oz (30 ml) of bitter Campari into the mixing glass.

Gently emulsify the ingredients using a bar spoon, hold the mixing glass with one hand and swirling the handle of the spoon with the other, placing it against the sides of the glass.

Empty the glass of excess water with the help of a strainer. If necessary, replace the ice cube with a new one. Large ice cubes melt much slower compared to small cubes, this means that the cocktail does not get watered down.

Transfer the contents of the mixing glass to the old fashioned tumbler with the help of a strainer, so as not to pour in the ice, but just the liquid.

Flavour the glass by squeezing the orange peel (removed from the fruit with a potato peeler) on top of the glass, so that the essential oils are released and fall back into the cocktail. This step also involves your sense of smell in the tasting experience.

Cut half a slice of fresh orange. Garnish using the fruit tweezers. You can use the same orange from which the peel has been removed, to avoid waste.

The History of Negroni

The invention of the Negroni dates back to the period from 1917 to 1920, thanks to Count Camillo Negroni, a gentleman who frequented the most important aristocratic salons in Florence.

One day, returning from one of his countless trips, Negroni asked the barman and friend Folco Scarselli of Caffè Casoni for a change to his usual drink, a mix of bitters and red vermouth very fashionable at the time.

The count asked to make it more robust by adding gin, of which he had become a connoisseur thanks to his London background. It didn't take long for the cocktail 'in the manner of Count Negroni' to become one of the most popular.

This cocktail is recognised for the first time by the IBA (International Bartenders Association) in 1961, although over the years it has undergone some changes. The recipe we present is the one currently recognised by the IBA since 2011, cataloguing it as a 'pre-dinner' drink.

Curiosity

Red vermouth is a Piedmontese creation. A typical product that has brought the name of important Turin companies to the world: such as Cinzano and Martini & Rossi. The bitter is the fruit of the creative genius of Gaspare Campari, founder of his eponymous company in Milan. The Negroni therefore combines two Italian excellences, perfectly representing the Turin-Milan axis.

Variations

The IBA recognises a variant of this cocktail: the Americano. It is prepared exactly like a Negroni, but instead of gin a splash of soda water is put directly into the glass. You order it instead of a Negroni when you want to drink something lighter, or when you prepare it with a high-quality sweet red Vermouth, because it will enhance its aroma and flavour. Another variant (even if not recognised by the IBA) of this cocktail is the Sbagliato, in which, instead of gin, a top of prosecco is added, filling the old fashioned tumbler. The rest of the recipe and preparation remains unchanged.