Negroni cocktails

Let's prepare the Negroni together, one of the most well-known and appreciated aperitif cocktails in the world. Here are the ingredients and the recipe!

One of the pre dinner, or aperitif cocktails, par excellence is the Negroni, a drink that is generally served with orange peel or slices. Invented in the 1920s by Count Camillo Negroni who frequented a local aristocrat , Caffè Casoni in Florence, the basic ingredients of the cocktail are none other than gin, Campari and red vermouth in equal parts served in a tumbler or Old-fashioned

Did you know that for a fully Japanese-style version it is possible to replace the gin with sake? The choice is yours and… happy preparation !

Preparation of the Negroni cocktail

1. Take two short tumblers (or better yet Old fashioned) and fill them about 3/4 full with ice cubes.
2. Add the gin, red vermouth and Campari to the order. Mix gently with a teaspoon or the appropriate stirrer.
3. Wash the orange, cut it into thin slices and complete your cocktail with a slice of orange for each glass or with some peel of your choice.

Serve immediately with appetizers, pizzas or finger food of your choice!

And here is a video recipe for preparing the drink. In this case the difference lies in the doses (prepare only one glass of the cocktail) and in the choice to prepare it in a separate glass and only then pour it into the tumbler, probably to eliminate the excess water that is created when mixing the Negroni with ice:

The variations of the cocktail

There are quite a few variations of the Negroni, which also began as a variant before becoming one of the most popular drinks in Italy and around the world. But let's look at the most famous ones together.

1. One of its relatives (and this too entirely Italian) is the wrong Negroni , a slightly lighter version because it involves the use of sparkling wine instead of gin .
2. In addition to the wrong version we can also remember the Negroski, which involves the use of vodka instead of gin .
3. Bencini replaces gin with white rum .
4. We have already mentioned the Japanese Negroni, made by replacing gin with sake.
5. Boulevardier . Instead of gin, whiskey or rather bourbon is used.
6. Old pal . Also in this drink the gin is replaced with whisky, but there is a second variation: dry vermouth instead of sweet vermouth.
7. Mexican Negroni . Tequila or mezcal instead of gin.

storage

We recommend consuming the spirit immediately , as soon as it is ready and before it thickens with the ice in the glass.

The origin of the Negroni: the two stories of the drink

The idea for this drink apparently came to Count Camillo Negroni around 1919-1920. In those years, the count regularly frequented the aristocratic Caffè Casoni in Via de' Tornabuoni in Florence, and it was precisely here that "the magic" happened, even if the starting point of this drink seems to be very controversial.

According to the first theory, the count, wishing to vary his usual Americano , asked the barman Angelo Tesauro (according to other sources, Fosco Scarselli) to add gin instead of seltzer. The new cocktail was initially called "Americano in Count Negroni's fashion" , the only difference between the Negroni and the Americano is the replacement of soda with gin . However, he later took the name of the count.

Not many know, however, that there is a second version regarding the origin of the Negroni, and it would not start from the Americano but rather from the classic Milan-Turin: a cocktail that already mixed Milanese Campari bitters with Piedmontese vermouth. Always the protagonist is Count Negroni, his request to the barman at Caffè Casoni was to add gin to the classic Milan-Turin after yet another trip to London (home of this spirit). According to some theories, in fact, the American was born after the Milan-Turin, in honor of the boxer Primo Carnera (nicknamed the American).