Ingredients:

Dry Gin, 1 oz

Sweet Vermouth, 1 oz

Campari, 1 oz

Orange for garnish

Directions and a lil history:

1) Fill glass with ice.

2) Add equal parts liquor.

3) Stir

4) Garnish

So easy!

Mixing equal portions of these liquors over ice in a large rocks glass renders you the simplest version of this iconic elixir, which is traditionally garnished with an orange slice. Upping the amount of gin is common as is the interchanging or blending of different types of vermouth to augment the sweetness or add to the herbaceous and bitter qualities. Campari is the standard, but other strong, bitter and red aperitivi stand in well. Diluting and chilling in an elegant mixing pitcher and serving straight up in a chilled cocktail glass is also common-place and wonderfully complex and bracing on the palate. An orange-peel is preferred in this case to the slice or “half-wheel” that functions so well on the rocks. Serving on a large rock with a twist is also fitting.

The origins of the drink are mysterious, involving conflicting claims it was invented by one of two men named Count Negroni and further muddied by recorded evidence in cocktail recipe books where similar drinks now considered “Negroni variations” (i.e the ‘Old Pal’ and the ‘Bouleveardier') actually appear in print before the Negroni itself became immortalized as such. Either way it happened sometime before 1920, and the story is often told where the Count requests an Americano (a common order at the time, and delicious drink in its own right, made of Campari, Sweet vermouth and Club Soda) with gin instead of soda water.

Jim Meehan, of PDT, one of the most influential modern bartenders, states in his book Meehan’s Cocktail Manual “When mixing the Negroni, you must always keep the strength, sweetness, and integration of all the botanicals in mind. Serving it over ice dilutes the mixture, mitigating the sweetness and alcoholic strength of the cocktail. Choose a higher (at least 46%ABV) proof gin like Beefeater, whose orange notes complement the Campari if you serve in equal parts.”

Sother Teague, of Amor y Amargo, another extremely well-versed and highly-respected bartender and author of I’m Just Here for the Drinks builds his Negornis in a rocks glass and stirs with one large-format ice cube. “My specification” says Sother, “on the Negroni takes a slight detour from the original. I forgo the equal parts in favor of a more gin heavy 2:1:1 ratio.” Doubling the gin, he says, helps with dilution, and he adds a few dashes of angostura bitters to “offset the loss of bitterness.”

It is quintessentially a cocktail, meaning that it fits the earliest known definition of being “a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters” substituting sweet fortified wine in the place of sugar and using a sturdy potable Italian bitter instead of the harsher, more astringent non-potable aromatic bitters. No matter your preference or limitations in the form of ice or bar tools or glassware, this classic stands up as a pillar of mixological genius. It has strength, depth, and balance. It is as simple as it is bold. It is equal parts soothing, contemplative and invigorating. And hard to fuck up.

Popular Variations:

Old Pal: Rye, Dry Vermouth, Campari.

Boueverdier: Bourbon or Rye, Sweet Vermouth, Campari. And a little angostura never hurts here either.