Negroni: How to Make this Classic Cocktail

Not unlike me, the negroni is a cocktail that you will either love or hate.

Not unlike me, the negroni is a bitter b*tch and she doesn’t want to be at this party either. Luckily, this cocktail is made with almost 100% alcohol, so it’s an excellent choice to wash away the sorrows of being somewhere you don’t want to be. However, I cannot recommend drinking these at the office. Maybe your kids soccer game…

The negroni is an interesting cocktails comprised of gin, sweet vermouth, and campari with just the simplest twist of orange. and that’s it. It’s origins go back about 100 years to the city of Florence, Italy where a count may have been having quite a day and decided to order an Americano, which is a similar cocktail with sweet vermouth, campari, and soda water. But the count said – hold the soda and add the gin, and voila there you have the negroni named for Count Negroni himself.

The negroni is an acquired taste stemming from the herbal and bright red campari, which is one of Italy’s most famous aperitifs. It’s spiced and citrusy and somehow when combined with sweet vermouth, gin, and touch of fresh orange, it just works. So next time you are in need of stiff drink, try a negroni!

Makes 1 but easily doubled or quadrupled to make a batch!

Ingredients:

2 counts of each = Gin, Compari, and Sweet Vermouth

1 orange wedge

Ice for shaking and fresh ice for your glass. I like to use a one of those big ice cubes for this cocktail.

Instructions:

1. In a shaker with some ice, combine gin campari, and sweet vermouth.
2. Shake what ya mama gave you!
3. Pour over ice with an orange wedge and enjoy.

If you like a bitter drink like this, you might enjoy a side car too!