Unless you have been living under a rock, Negronis went from the obscure to the cocktail menu staple everywhere under the sun over the last few years. There are entire accounts on Instagram such as House of Negroni dedicated to showing them off and books like The Negroni: A Love Affair by Matt Hranek detailing their history onto the folks sipping them around the globe.
You are either in or you’re out on them. There are no fence-sitters on this drink.
I am not here to give you the lengthy history as it has been talked about time and time again from sloppy to perfection. This is a share of my own little love affair with the classic drink and few iterations that have sparked my fancy along the way. If you have been living under that rock, here is the staple recipe.
NEGRONI
1 oz Gin
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
1 oz Campari
Back when I was sailing on American flagged cargo ships, drinking aboard ship had a zero tolerance policy from the office. Many other countries allow their crews to imbibe in responsible fashion without cause for concern, but thats up to lawyers of which American companies don’t want a part in. I always found it funny how they could take me out to lunch during a workday for a beverage, but would fire you in a heartbeat for doing it on the ship. What they don’t know never hurt them and we got the job done.
Our contracts at sea kept us aboard for 90-120 days at a time often with no port calls for over 30 days, so you had better take stock appropriately or find replenishment along the way. On one such voyage back in 2016, over 100 days in recently departing the Middle East without the option of replenishment, we finally ran out of supplies. Now there were less than two weeks before hitting the United States and my departure from the vessel, but opportunity arose and I struck. We had pulled into Gibraltar for bunkers (ship fuel) and provisions so I placed a personal order with the ship’s agent handling our needs to gather Negroni supplies for that final leg off the books. Hey, after the workday we enjoyed a nightcap while shooting the breeze or watching a tv show and the Negroni was our pour of choice. Mission accomplished and we sailed home across the Atlantic with our ritual intact.
The real beauty of the Negroni lays in the exploration of its endless iterations. You can make changes to components within their field, swap out entire spirits, alter the ratios, add some sparkling components and even end up in an entirely new cocktail with a name of its own, but the core remains the same. You are in or you’re out on this bitter drink.
JD’S NEGRONI
1.5 oz Monkey 47 Gin
1 oz Cynar
0.75 oz Punt e Mes
0.5 oz Carpano Antica
We choose to batch these 36 oz at a time into IKEA pop top bottles and store them in the freezer for the most delightful ice cold beverage, ready at a moments notice. By no means is this perfection as some may call it a crime to leave out Campari, but its what I like. It’s almost approaching a syrup when it comes out of that freezer. All credit for putting the batched cocktail idea on my radar goes to my buddy Morgan Weber.
Maybe you aren’t desiring the full monty of this freezer version, so hit it with some Topo Chico or soda water of choice for a less viscous and lower ABV take. Pop a little champagne floater in there for the bubbles and more punch. Swap out the gin for Mezcal to get the smokiness. If you go with bourbon you’ll have made a Boulevardier. Ditch the gin entirely for the soda water and now you’re drinking an Americano. Pour in a cup of coconut oil with the batch, pop it into the freezer and remove the solid later for a tasty and smoother mouthfeel version of the original. I have made so many iterations that many of them allude me and often they’re just a guess if the proportions were accurate.
Drink them in the afternoon for cocktail hour or pour them late as a nightcap. Have them in a bar dressed to impress or in flip flops by a river. Make them standard or make them doubles. Heck, we were at a concert a few weeks ago and they made them in a 16oz cup which was rather hefty. I topped it with beer halfway through as if added that made it less potent. The possibilities are endless. If you are on that Negroni train, keep exploring as this is where the real fun is. There are no wrong answers if you enjoy it.
If you have a nifty riff, drop it below so the experiments can be tested, for scientific purposes of course.
If you made it this far, here are two special recipes from a bartender buddy, Westin.
SOTOL NEGRONI
1.5 oz Marfa Spirits Co Sotol
0.75 oz Tempus Fugit Kina
0.5 oz Gran Classico
NEGRONI ROSA FRIZZANTE
1 oz Langley’s Old Tom Gin
1 oz Campari
0.75 oz Byrhh Quina
0.75 oz La Madre Rosa Vermouth
Top w/ Lindeman’s Lambic Framboise
Cin Cin. Salud. Cheers.
This is the way.
Of all the odes and prose I've read about negronis, this is probably my favorite! Cheers 🥂