By Lee Jones from Wax Bar and Juke Joint, Leeds
Created sometime before 1920 at the Bar Casoni in Florence. The Negroni cocktail was a short jump from the classic apperitif the ‘Americano‘ – a simple mix of Sweet Vermouth, Campari and Soda. The addition of gin came at the request of a patron, the Count Camillo Negroni, who preferred his afternoon Americano with more of a kick!
The first time I tried a Negroni cocktail I remember staring back down at my cocktail spec and thinking, ‘It can’t be that simple‘.
After spending so much time delicately balancing cocktails only to be hit with this equal parts taste sensation – I couldn’t believe it. It tasted soooo good. The zesty punch of the gin balanced with the bitter sweet Campari – soothed by the rounded herbal aromatics of the vermouth.
You could be as rough as you wanted with it. A slug of each ingredient, add ice, no need to dilute too much, just a quick finger stir and away you go!
Straight away, ‘equal part’ drinks were on my radar and have been ever since. Here’s to the Count!
The Negroni:
1 oz Gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
Stir with ice and strain into an ice filled tumbler.
Garnish with an orange wedge.