Urban Bar: Negroni
A Negroni evokes Ligurian summer. It slides into the glass offering the clear ruby of stained glass and the bittersweet citrus of an orangerie. In a well built Negroni, velvety vermouth balances seductive Campari, all bound together by herbs and oranges and anchored by effort and ice. In New York City, the sleek Fiorentini bartender at Gusto mixes an exemplary Negroni, as do the chatty, tattooed tenders at The Formosa in Los Angeles. At one such, where I am such a regular my title behind the doors is “Mayor,” I was given the opportunity to take an informal turn behind the bar. The drink of test was the Negroni. Bartenders are impressed by knowledgeable drinkers, and I’m not above boasting that, my status as a regular notwithstanding, my Negroni was pronounced good enough to serve.
Many cocktails that rely on a signature label are the result of efforts from marketers and advertisers on behalf of that liquor. Because it must be made with Campari, one might assume the same of the Negroni, but it turns out that the Negroni did not result from the efforts of industry but, appropriate to this topsy-turvy drink, contributed to them. It was one of the earliest cocktails to be bottled and sold pre-mixed, much as mudslides and cosmos are nowadays.
The predecessor of the Negroni was the Americano, which like its coffee bar cousin is called that because to Italian palates, Americans like their quaffs watered down. At the coffee bar, an Americano is espresso poured into hot water, and at the wet bar, an Americano is Campari and vermouth rosso lightened with club soda. As with the Black Russian, the Negroni came about as a result of the interaction between a bartender and a patron who was, like the cocktail they would inspire, larger than life. Count Camillo Negroni was such a swashbuckler that he achieved note as a rodeo cowboy. In Florence, the Count asked the bartender at his hotel to revise his usual Americano with gin. The bartender excised the soda water but kept the equal ratio of Campari and vermouth and matched it with gin. Rather than the Americano’s peach gradient, the resulting cocktail landed in the glass as red as Christmas candy and, speaking to the generosity of bartenders, was named after the customer rather than the mixer.
Strictly speaking, a Negroni is an aperitif, the designation for a drink served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. Most apertifs have a bitter component on the theory that this stimulates the stomach juices, but they can also be sweet. A Negroni is both. Apertifs are typically small shots of alcohol – a sip of vermouth, a flute of champagne, a dram of sherry. Not so the Negroni. This robust drink contains three strong liquors in exact and equal measure. As with all cocktails, it is correct to bring one started before dinner to table, and that’s a good thing, for anyone who’s started the evening with a well-rendered Negroni will likely be reluctant to abandon it and it’s even more likely that they will seek refills.
Campari is a bitter aperitif, classified by some as bitters. It is distilled from fruit, herbs and carmine. The former gives Campari its distinctive bitter-orange flavor and the latter imparts the distinctive vermilion color. As with most signature cocktails, the official recipe inspires countless riffs. Accordingly, it is not difficult to find bartending books and websites that suggest experimenting with different proportions of liquor or with using an aperitif other than Campari, for example Cynar or Aperol. Urban Home respects diversity of viewpoint, but in our urban bar, a Negroni follows exact proportions and is made only with Campari. For mad scientists, there is room to experiment with the vermouth. Most tenders agree that simple, old-fashioned red vermouth works best, so that is what is recommended below. And if the recipe below seems a little fussy that’s okay, for a Negroni is a drink that should be made with a show and served with a flourish. The steps are not that difficult and the preparation is part of the experience. Once you experience a Negroni, you understand how much of its charm is in its showiness.
NEGRONI
This recipe makes two cocktails. For larger quantities, do not double the recipe; make multiple batches. Measure is crucial; pour each alcohol to the top of the shot glass and level it before decanting into the shaker. In our urban bar we like to make bitters, and you can get very good ones at The Meadow.
1 level shot strong gin, such as Plymouth or Bulldog
1 level shot vermouth rosso, such as Martini and Rossi or Stock
1 level shot Campari
Orange bitters
1 orange
1. Place a drop of fruit and vegetable cleanser in your palm. Rub the orange with the cleaner and rinse the orange under cool water until the skin feels clean.
2. Use a bar- or citrus knife to excise two pieces of orange peel approximately 1 inch in length. Try just to get the orange peel and none of the bitter white pith underneath.
3. Place two ice cubes each into two old-fashioned glasses.
4. Place three ice cubes into a cocktail shaker.
5. Shake several drops of orange bitters over the ice. Stop once you detect the orange fragrance.
6. Measure the gin, vermouth and Campari into the shaker in that order.
7. Use a bar spoon to stir the Negroni together (no shaking) until the cocktail releases its fragrance and the walls of the shaker become too cold to touch.
8. Fit the shaker with the lid. Decant the Negroni into the two old-fashioned glasses.
9. Hold an orange peel over each Negroni. Light a match and hold it behind the orange peel to warm the peel. You should see the oils from the orange peel rise to the surface of the peel. Extinguish the match.
10. Twist the peel over the surface of the Negroni and then drop the peel on the top of the drink.
11. Serve.
Many cocktails that rely on a signature label are the result of efforts from marketers and advertisers on behalf of that liquor. Because it must be made with Campari, one might assume the same of the Negroni, but it turns out that the Negroni did not result from the efforts of industry but, appropriate to this topsy-turvy drink, contributed to them. It was one of the earliest cocktails to be bottled and sold pre-mixed, much as mudslides and cosmos are nowadays.
The predecessor of the Negroni was the Americano, which like its coffee bar cousin is called that because to Italian palates, Americans like their quaffs watered down. At the coffee bar, an Americano is espresso poured into hot water, and at the wet bar, an Americano is Campari and vermouth rosso lightened with club soda. As with the Black Russian, the Negroni came about as a result of the interaction between a bartender and a patron who was, like the cocktail they would inspire, larger than life. Count Camillo Negroni was such a swashbuckler that he achieved note as a rodeo cowboy. In Florence, the Count asked the bartender at his hotel to revise his usual Americano with gin. The bartender excised the soda water but kept the equal ratio of Campari and vermouth and matched it with gin. Rather than the Americano’s peach gradient, the resulting cocktail landed in the glass as red as Christmas candy and, speaking to the generosity of bartenders, was named after the customer rather than the mixer.
Strictly speaking, a Negroni is an aperitif, the designation for a drink served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. Most apertifs have a bitter component on the theory that this stimulates the stomach juices, but they can also be sweet. A Negroni is both. Apertifs are typically small shots of alcohol – a sip of vermouth, a flute of champagne, a dram of sherry. Not so the Negroni. This robust drink contains three strong liquors in exact and equal measure. As with all cocktails, it is correct to bring one started before dinner to table, and that’s a good thing, for anyone who’s started the evening with a well-rendered Negroni will likely be reluctant to abandon it and it’s even more likely that they will seek refills.
Campari is a bitter aperitif, classified by some as bitters. It is distilled from fruit, herbs and carmine. The former gives Campari its distinctive bitter-orange flavor and the latter imparts the distinctive vermilion color. As with most signature cocktails, the official recipe inspires countless riffs. Accordingly, it is not difficult to find bartending books and websites that suggest experimenting with different proportions of liquor or with using an aperitif other than Campari, for example Cynar or Aperol. Urban Home respects diversity of viewpoint, but in our urban bar, a Negroni follows exact proportions and is made only with Campari. For mad scientists, there is room to experiment with the vermouth. Most tenders agree that simple, old-fashioned red vermouth works best, so that is what is recommended below. And if the recipe below seems a little fussy that’s okay, for a Negroni is a drink that should be made with a show and served with a flourish. The steps are not that difficult and the preparation is part of the experience. Once you experience a Negroni, you understand how much of its charm is in its showiness.
NEGRONI
This recipe makes two cocktails. For larger quantities, do not double the recipe; make multiple batches. Measure is crucial; pour each alcohol to the top of the shot glass and level it before decanting into the shaker. In our urban bar we like to make bitters, and you can get very good ones at The Meadow.
1 level shot strong gin, such as Plymouth or Bulldog
1 level shot vermouth rosso, such as Martini and Rossi or Stock
1 level shot Campari
Orange bitters
1 orange
1. Place a drop of fruit and vegetable cleanser in your palm. Rub the orange with the cleaner and rinse the orange under cool water until the skin feels clean.
2. Use a bar- or citrus knife to excise two pieces of orange peel approximately 1 inch in length. Try just to get the orange peel and none of the bitter white pith underneath.
3. Place two ice cubes each into two old-fashioned glasses.
4. Place three ice cubes into a cocktail shaker.
5. Shake several drops of orange bitters over the ice. Stop once you detect the orange fragrance.
6. Measure the gin, vermouth and Campari into the shaker in that order.
7. Use a bar spoon to stir the Negroni together (no shaking) until the cocktail releases its fragrance and the walls of the shaker become too cold to touch.
8. Fit the shaker with the lid. Decant the Negroni into the two old-fashioned glasses.
9. Hold an orange peel over each Negroni. Light a match and hold it behind the orange peel to warm the peel. You should see the oils from the orange peel rise to the surface of the peel. Extinguish the match.
10. Twist the peel over the surface of the Negroni and then drop the peel on the top of the drink.
11. Serve.
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