Negroni Week 2022 – From Classic to Modern
I have been planning an article about Negronis for quite some time now. So, this year’s Negroni week is the perfect reason for not further postponing it. So, below you can find four different “Negronis” ranging from the original classic to modern interpretations.
I guess the original Negroni does not need an introduction. However, for this iconic combination of gin, Italian bitter liqueur and sweet vermouth the devil is in the details. For me the ideal recipe leans a little bit towards the gin, which should be a classic London Dry, but with enough citrus notes. Furthermore, while Campari results in a tasty cocktail, I have been using other red bitter liqueurs for quite some time now. The Bitter del Professore or the Bitter del Ciglista. Both are excellent choices here.
3 cl Italian Red Bitter
3 cl Gölles Rosso Vermouth
Garnish: Orange Twist;
Song: San Fermin – The Count;
A modern classic
The Tabula Rasa from Klaus St. Rainer probably already counts as a modern classic. In its simplest form, it just replaces the gin with cacao eau de vie. There also is a 2.0 version using an orange foam with Campari dust as a topping. Yet, I really like the former version. Unfortunately, the original cacao eau de vie is no longer produced. Here I used the excellent “chocolate in liquid form” eau de vie from my good friend Manuel Engel.
3 cl Italian Red Bitter
3 cl Yzaguierre Reserva Vermouth
Garnish: Orange Twist;
Song: Glass Animals – Cocoa Hooves;
Coincidental find
Some time ago I stumble upon the King Negroni from The Cure in New Orleans on the Cocchi Vermouth homepage. Basically, it uses vermouth as a base spirit. While I do not have Barolo Chinato, I mixed the drink with the Mancino Chinato and was quite pleased with it. Yet, the drink probably needs a different gin than I usually use in my Negronis to fully live up to its potential.
1,5 cl Gin Eva
1,5 cl Italian Red Bitter
Garnish: Orange Twist;
Song: Florence + The Machine – King;
Wintery and spicy
The Negroni Code was featured in the Vogue magazine just before Christmas 2021 and created by Agostino Perrone at The Connaught Bar. My fellow Drinkstagrammer Distiller’s Cut featured it right around that time. However, since I always have a lot of recipes in my pipeline it took me three months to remix it. Since the Connaught Gin used has red wine as an botanical, I used my winest gin the Windspiel Van Volxem. It turned out pretty great!
3 cl Italian Red Bitter
3 cl Yzaguirre Sweet Vermouth
3 cl Aromatic Water*
Garnish: Orange Twist;
Song: Andrew Bird – Cracking Codes;
*Infuse 1 tsp. cacao nibs, 50 g orange peel and 60 g raisins in 500 ml hot water – let rest for an hour – filter and bottle in clean bottle.
