Negroni
The Negroni is an aperitif made of three equal parts: gin, red vermouth and Campari, stirred over ice and served with an orange zest. It was created between 1917 and 1920 at Caffè Casoni in Florence, when Count Camillo Negroni asked for a stronger Americano and bartender Fosco Scarselli replaced the soda with gin. Today it is an IBA official cocktail.
- Preparation time
- 3 minutes
- Servings
- 1 drink
- Difficulty
- easy
- Method
- Stirred
- Glass
- Tumbler, chilled
- Garnish
- Orange zest
Ingredients
- 3 cl THE DUKE Rough Gin
- 3 cl red vermouth
- 3 cl Campari
Preparation
- Fill the tumbler with large ice cubes and let it chill.
- Pour gin, red vermouth and Campari in equal parts into a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir for about 20 seconds, until the glass frosts on the outside.
- Strain into the chilled tumbler over fresh ice.
- Express an orange zest over the drink and drop it in.
Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice until cold. Pour into a tumbler filled with ice and garnish with an orange zest.
Tips
- Always stir, never shake. The Negroni is spirit, vermouth and bitter only, with no juice or egg white. Shaking would make it cloudy and foamy.
- Use large ice cubes. They melt more slowly and dilute this strong drink less.
- Express the orange zest over the glass before dropping it in. The oils pick up the orange notes of the Campari.
- The IBA builds the Negroni directly in the ice-filled glass and stirs it there. That is equally correct; the mixing glass simply gives you more control over dilution.
Frequently asked questions
Which gin works in a Negroni?
A strong, juniper-forward dry gin that holds its own against Campari and vermouth. Our house recipe uses the Rough Gin, whose juniper punch carries the bittersweet mix. The Munich Dry Gin works just as well and adds a Bavarian note with hops and malt, as in the Bavarian Negroni.
Stirred or shaken?
Always stirred. The Negroni is spirit, vermouth and bitter only, with no juice or egg white, so it needs no shaking. Shaken, it would turn cloudy and foamy. The IBA stirs it directly in the ice-filled glass; we stir it in a mixing glass over ice and then strain it.
Which glass for a Negroni?
A tumbler, also called an old-fashioned glass, well chilled and filled with large ice cubes. Large cubes melt more slowly and dilute this strong drink less. For the garnish, an orange zest or half an orange slice both work.
What are the proportions of a Negroni?
Equal parts: 3 cl each of gin, red vermouth and Campari. That is also the IBA recipe. The historic original was heavier on vermouth with less gin; the equal-parts version only took hold in the 1950s.