Negroni

Negroni, born in Italy in the 1920s , is still one of the best served cocktails at bar counters around the world. It is a drink with a dry and elegant profile, very fragrant and perfectly balanced. The slightly bitter notes of Bitter Campari go well with the fresh and balsamic aromas of Gin and the slightly vinous undertone of Red Vermouth. An excellent cocktail for a pre-dinner or a very alcoholic aperitif!

The recipe for this cocktail is very easy and the preparation even more:

• 3 cl Gin,
• 3 cl Bitter Campari,
• 3 cl Red Vermouth.
• A slice of orange.

An Old fashioned glass preferably cooled in the freezer for a few minutes, a few dry ice cubes (being careful to drain the water in case it forms). At this point just pour Gin, Bitter and Vermouth in order, mix gently and garnish with a slice of orange. The rule is that Negroni is served without a straw so that every inhaled aroma binds to the taste on the palate.

Origins:

His story concludes that Negroni is the son of the American! More precisely, the cocktail takes its name from Count Camillo Negroni , a particular, well-off and very active character, a hectic life and always looking for news, an official student in Modena, cowboy between Wyoming and Canada, a player at the races on the East Coast, fencing teacher in New York, horseman, designer, hunter but still a Count and a heavy drinker! Fixed customer, in fact, of the Casoni Coffee (later become Giacosa Coffee) in Via dei Tornabuoni in Florence. It was an unhappy time, all over the world, the First World War was in the midst of the collapse of a country like Italy: there is no precise date of the birth of this cocktail but it can be traced back between 1918 and 1920. Therefore it does not come in a moment of euphoria. In reality it was a day of sadness and fatigue for the Count, a day when the misery of time had devastated him and that very day, he stopped at the bar on his return from his trip, instead of "the usual!" meaning the usual American, he made an unusual request to the young barman Fosco Scarselli: to strengthen that cocktail with a "splash of Gin" ... a very nice splash of Gin, replacing it with Seltz, and a slice of orange to distinguish it from the old cocktail of the same color.

From that day, in that grocery store in Via dei Tornabuoni, many others asked "the American in the manner of Count Negroni". But do not think that it was an entirely downhill road for cocktails: Florence knew and adored him but until there was the great presence of the Americans, the name of the Count and his drink did not come out of the walls.

The "wrong" variant:

The Negroni was revisited in the 1960s by Mirko Stocchetto, owner of the famous Bar Basso in Milan. It seems that the barman, without realizing it, made a mistake by pouring the Brut instead of Gin. The famous cocktail has undergone a modification that has given rise to a new version called "Negroni Sbagliato". Negroni Sbagliato provides the use of a Classic Method sparkling wine instead of Gin. A less alcoholic and intense drink, but fresher and more pleasant to drink, especially during the summer months:

• 3 cl Classic Method Sparkling Wine,
• 3 cl Bitter Campari,
• 3 cl Red Vermouth.

Also this version is prepared directly in an Old Fashioned glass or another low and wide glass cooled with ice or even better in the freezer. Add ice, pour the Campari Bitter and Red Vermouth, mix and fill with the Classic Method Sparkling Wine. To garnish, the usual slice of orange.