This ought to be an unusually brief edition of the Sunday Specials series. This week’s cocktail is the Negroni, and not only is it considered a classic; it’s also one the easiest mixed drinks to make, with a 1-to-1-to-1 formula (Campari to sweet vermouth to gin) that every bartender knows by heart.
But no.
As is the case with many of our favorite libations, the origins of the Negroni are somewhat in question. The usual story, retold in Mittie Hellmich’s Ultimate Bar Book and countless other recipe guides, has an Italian count, Camillo Negroni, demanding one day in 1919 that his bartender in Florence stiffen up his Americano cocktail by omitting the club soda and substituting gin. (Quite a change.)
An alternate history can be found in The Negroni: Drinking to La Dolce Vita by Gary Regan, in which we learn of another Count Negroni (General Pascal Olivier Count de Negroni, for those taking this down) whose descendants now claim was the real inventor of the eponymous cocktail, sometime between his retirement in 1891 and his death in 1913.
Regan doesn’t buy it. I’ll admit that I can’t keep my Count Negronis straight anyway, so I’ll just proceed to the drink.
Unlike the Martini or the Old Fashioned, of which there are countless variations, the Negroni’s simple blueprint makes it somewhat impervious to alteration. Somewhat, but not totally.
Regan’s book, for example, offers a menu of dozens of Negroni offshoots and other Campari-forward cocktails, using everything from aquavit to whiskey. Hellmich lists four mutant versions, including the Punt e Mes Negroni (subbing in Punt e Mes, a bitter Italian vermouth, for the Campari) and the Dirty Dick’s Downfall (yes, in honor of Richard Nixon), which retains the classic ingredients while doubling the gin and halving the Campari and sweet vermouth.
I’ll admit to enjoying the original with its unique transformation from sweet to bitter on the tongue. Chef Sin, however, sent her first Negroni back to the Cuisine Stupide bar. I thought perhaps that a less sweet version might be more to her liking, so I whipped her up a Cardinal (subbing dry vermouth for sweet). After one sip, she was forced to cleanse her palate—with garlic bagel chips.
So that’s the not-so-brief story. The Negroni isn’t for everyone. But here are two versions—sweet and dry—for you to try.
Garlic bagel chips optional. But best to have some on hand.
Classic Negroni
1 ounce gin
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet vermouth
Orange slice for garnish
Add liquid ingredients to mixing glass with ice. Shake for 30 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled lowball or rocks glass. Garnish with orange slice.
Cardinal
Adapted from Ultimate Bar Book by Mittie Hellmich
1 ounce gin
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce dry vermouth
Orange slice for garnish
Add liquid ingredients to mixing glass with ice. Shake for 30 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled lowball or rocks glass. Garnish with orange slice.