This cocktail, known to the world for nearly a century, is the very impetus for Katherine and Hugh creating Fix Your Drink cards. Although this cocktail harkens back to the early 1900s, we continue to find waitstaff and bartenders who have no idea what we are ordering, like the time it came with “Bacardi” instead of “Campari.”
This is Katherine’s absolutely favorite aperitif, with bitter and a tinge of sweet, oh and the colder it is the better. And her mother has become a quick convert as its combination of sweet, sour and bitter tingles her palate tantalizingly.
We’ve tinkered with this drink the most, with strong gins (like Bluecoat, Tanqueray and Plymouth), sweet gins (like Hayman’s Old Tom) and even flavored gins (like Tanqueray Rangpur). Even the bitter part can be played with, by using Aperol instead of Campari. And to really mix it up, try Carpano Antica. Spicy, zesty, making a Negroni something to really get excited about.
There’s also something lovely about having a fresh, bright red cocktail to start off your evening. And even a newcomer can raise the bar. When we first ordered Negronis at a lovely local restaurant, Taberna, the proprietor Daniel did have to ask the recipe but came back with a magical, game changing twist. By using crushed ice and a long, thin orange peel, the increased cold and burst of orange oil makes a Negroni truly bright. Thank you, Daniel!