Classic Negroni Recipe and The 5 Best Negroni Variations
The Negroni. A cocktail highlighted for its bitter flavour and sophistication. Through this Negroni cocktail guide we will answer all your burning Negroni cocktail questions. Such as; Whats the Negroni history? Who invented the Negroni? What are the best ingredients to use for a Negroni along with the classic negroni recipe 5 of the best Negroni Variations including the White Negroni and Negroni Sbagliato.
This is the second Gin cocktail guide to be posted here on Smartblend. The first being the full complete guide to the Gin Martini which can be found here.
But this is about the Negroni cocktail guide. So let’s jump in. And the best place to start any understanding of cocktails, is to understand where it came from. So we shall start with the history of the Negroni.
The Negroni History
Before we cover the history of the Negroni and before we cover the classic negroni recipes. We first need to discuss the Americano. The Americano is an Italian cocktail which predates the Negroni. And more importantly, is believed to be the origins of the Negroni cocktail.
Americano cocktail recipe photo
Americano Recipe
Ingredients
30ml Campari
30ml Sweet Vermouth
Top With Soda water
Method
Mix all ingredients in a rocks glass filled with cubed ice.
Gently stir and garnish with a lemon peel.
Count Camillo Negroni
As with many classic cocktails, hard evidence of origins can be difficult to pinpoint. However, one of the most widely believed stories of the Negroni cocktail origins is the story of Count Camillo Negroni.
Italian born Count Camillo Negroni was an interesting man to say the least. He had spent his twenties travelling across America, living the life of a cowboy for a period of time and a New York Gambler. After prohibition came a knocking in 1919, he returned to live in Florence, Italy.
It was here in Florence at the Caffe Casoni in 1919 where the Negroni is said to be invented. As the story goes, Count Camillo was a regular customer at Caffe Casoni, one day he asked for more of a kick to his Americano and so the famed bartender Fosco Scarselli swapped out the soda water for Gin and garnished with an orange slice to differentiate from the Americano.
Other patrons and regulars of Caffe Casoni started to ask for “The Count Negroni drink” Which soon became known simply as the “Negroni”.
After seeing the success of this Negroni cocktail, the Negroni family moved quickly setting up the Negroni Distillery. Producing one of the first known bottled, ready to drink cocktails. The Negroni.
Count Camillo Negroni 1919
Negroni Ingredients
Easy to remember, the Negroni consists of just three ingredients: Gin, Campari and Sweet vermouth. This makes the Negroni a cocktail that’s not only easy to remember, but easy to make at home.
However, it also means it’s important to get them ingredients right.
Negroni Sbagliato Recipe Photo
The best Gin to use in a Negroni
With thousands of gin brands, deciding on which gin to use can be difficult. It’s the make or break of your Negroni. Being the strongest spirit in the mix with the highest ABV. You want to pick one that will compliment the cocktail the most.
This leads to the frequently asked question of which is the best gin to use. My guidance for picking a gin is flexible. When making a Negroni for yourself, your favourite will do just fine. However, it's good to remember that just because you like a brand of gin in your gin and tonics. Doesn't mean you will like it in a Negroni. Make sure its a gin you enjoy in stronger hard-hitting cocktails.
With Orange making up the garnish element of your Negroni. Gin’s that have that citrusy, orange peel botanical work well, such as Beefeater, Tanquary 10 and Bathtub gin.
London dry gin that's juniper forward also works well. The dryness compliments well with the bitter of Campari and the sweetness of the vermouth. Creating the perfect balance. Two dry gin brands that work well are Sipsmith London dry and Four Pillars Rare Dry.
For more of an understanding of gin. Take a look at my Ultimate guide to gin for everything you need to know about gin, botanicals and gin styles.
Campari Poster by Carlo Fisanotti “Fisa”
Campari
Bitter liqueur is what gives a Negroni it’s noticeable taste. You either love it or hate it. But what exactly are bitter liqueurs? Bitter liqueurs are well, liqueurs, that are bitter. They are low ABV spirits that have been sweetened then infused with an array of herbs, spices and botanicals to give a bitter aftertaste. Usually used as aperitifs.
Campari being the most popular but not the only one. However, it’s campari that is the well known choice of liqueur for a Negroni. They kind of own the market on negronis. When you think Negroni you think Campari.
Campari was established in 1860 in Milan, Italy. The recipe that makes up Campari. has been kept the same since its creation, and has remained a closely guarded secret passed down over the years. So your guess is as good as mine as to what makes Campari Campari.
The only known ingredients in Campari are water and alcohol. Nothing else is revealed, including how many ingredients there are.
Vintage Campari Poster
Sweet vermouth
For what exactly vermouth is check out my Guide to martinis here. In that guide I cover the basics of vermouth. There are lots of sweet vermouth brands you could use in your Negroni. The most popular and most widely used is Carpano Antica. A vermouth I use myself for Negroni recipes.
Negroni Garnish
The classic garnish for a Negroni is a neatly trimmed orange wedge. It not only balances the cocktail but is traditional. You want to keep it simple. Just cut a sliver of orange and drop it in the glass. Anything else is overkill.
Today, we see more people opting for a simple orange peel rather than an orange wedge. Which i'm not against, orange peels don’t get in the way of your drinking as much as an orange wedge. So if you want to opt for an orange peel instead of a wedge. That's okay. But once again, just trim it down and drop it in. Anything else is overkill.
Negroni garnishing photo
Making Negronis at home
The beauty of the equal part method is that it makes this drink super easy to recreate at home. You don’t need anything other than the three ingredients, ice and a glass to serve in.
No need for jiggers to measure, just find something you can pour equal parts out of. It could be a shot glass, a large lid or even an egg shell! Add it to a glass filled with ice and use a teaspoon, straw or your finger to stir till you reach you’re preferred dilution.
The three ingredients are also easy to get hold of. Everywhere from your large supermarket to your corner shop has some variety of Gin, Sweet vermouth and bitter liqueur.
Negroni FAQ
How many calories in a Negroni?
Depending on how you make your Negroni this can change quite a bit. Generally and a good rule of thumb is that a Negroni recipe of equal parts will contain around 200 calories.
What is Negroni week and when is it?
Imbibe launched Negroni Week in 2013 as a celebration of one of the world’s great cocktails and an effort to raise money for charities around the world. Since 2013, Negroni Week has grown from about 120 participating venues to over 12,000 venues around the world, and to date, they have collectively raised nearly £3 million for charitable causes.
What’s an aperitif?
An aperitif is an alcoholic drink taken before a meal to stimulate the appetite. Campari is a well known aperitif as is a Negroni
What is a Negroni with Whiskey Called?
A Negroni with Whiskey is called a Boulevardier.
Classic Negroni Recipe
Now for the bit you have been waiting for. The Classic Negroni recipe. Although most bartenders and Gin enthusiasts from across the world have heard of the Negroni. The vast majority will make them differently. Despite the fact there are only three ingredients.
I don’t have a problem with this at all. I love to see people’s personalities in the drinks they create. You want to make me a sweet Negroni? Go for it. A hard-hitting navy strength Gin Negroni? Why the hell not!
However, there is one recipe people agree on most. That recipe also happens to be the most simple to remember. Equal parts Gin, Campari and sweet vermouth.
Classic Negroni
Ingredients
Instructions
- Fill a rocks glass full with fresh cubed ice straight from the freezer.
- Pour in your Gin, Sweet vermouth and Campari straight into your rocks glass.
- Stir till your Negroni is 25% diluted. Before you stir, eye the level of your Negroni inside the rocks glass otherwise you won't be able to see when it's diluted to perfection. If making for yourself, just taste as you go until you reach your preferred dilution.
- Garnish with a wedge of orange.
Notes
For the best variations on this classic, scroll down below or get creative by swapping out the ingredients for your favorite subs.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
163.86Fat
0 gSat. Fat
0 gCarbs
8.71 gFiber
0 gNet carbs
8.71 gSugar
0 gProtein
0.02 gSodium
0.28 mgCholesterol
0 mgThe nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Negroni Variations
Throughout the decades, Negroni variations have been staples in bars across the world. Every “Bartenders bar” and cocktail forward bar has their twist on the classic Negroni recipe.
From barrel aged to chocolate Negronis and everything in-between. However, throughout time there have been Negroni twists that have stood the test of time.
And like many Negroni lovers, I myself have my own recipes I've created and love to drink. Below are some of the most popular Negroni twists along with recipes created by yours truly.
Aperol Negroni Recipe
Aperol being as popular as it is, and the Negroni cocktail being as popular as it is. It was only a matter of time until people started adding Aperol to their Negroni recipes and making Aperol Negronis.
The pair actually go with each other really well. If you love the taste of Negronis but find them a bit too much on the bitter side. Swapping out the Campari for Aperol is an easy fix.
These Aperol Negronis are perfect for people who are new to drinking Negronis or want to enjoy them but don’t have the palette for the bitterness.
With Campari being the maker of Negronis and having this “No Campari? Not a Negroni” Mind set, you may feel like it’s sacrilegious to make a Negroni with Aperol. But believe me, it's not. Variations are a show of appreciation in cocktails.
Ingredients
25ml London dry gin
25ml Sweet Vermouth
25ml Aperol
Method
Fill a rocks glass full with fresh cubed ice straight from the freezer.
Pour in your Gin, Sweet vermouth and Aperol into your glass.
Stir till you reach your preferred dilution.
Garnish with a wedge of orange.
Negroni Sbagliato Recipe
There are hundreds if not thousands of variations and twists on the classic Negroni recipe. It’s not hard to see why. Negroni’s are delicious. They are a staple in classic cocktails. With that comes variations.
Pronounced spal-yacht-oh which means mistake in Italian. The Negroni Sbagliato is a variation believed to be one of the first Negroni twists in history. As the story goes, a bartender named Mirko Stocchetti was serving someone at a busy Italian bar in Milan, when making a Negroni he accidentally grabbed a bottle of prosecco instead of gin and history was made.
Ingredients
25ml Campari
25ml Sweet Vermouth
Top With prosecco
Method
Combine Campari and sweet vermouth together in a tall glass filled with cubed ice.
Top with prosecco and give a light stir.
Garnish with a large orange peel.
White Negroni Recipe
White Negroni, Negroni Blanco, Clear Negroni. They are all the same thing. A Negroni cocktail that rather than having that deep red colour, is clear instead.
The man behind the drink is a bartender by the name of Wayne Collins. Who created the drink in 2001 at the VinExpo in Bordeaux, France. Using Plymouth gin for the then director of Plymouth Gin.
Wayne has also specified the use of grapefruit zest in this Negroni recipe and not orange.
The drink became a hit. Below is that White Negroni Recipe.
White Negroni Recipe Photo
Ingredients
25ml Plymouth Gin
25ml Lillet blanc
25ml Suze
Method
Fill a rocks glass full with fresh cubed ice straight from the freezer.
Pour in your Gin, Lillet and Suze
Stir till you reach your preferred dilution.
Garnish with a grapefruit zest and peel
Land Of The Rising Plum Recipe
This Negroni variation recipe is one I had developed for a Chinese inspired bar and restaurants due to open in 2018 but never came to be. The use of plum sake really gave this Negroni twist a complex level of flavour.
The underlining spice notes of Roku gin bring this whole cocktail together, creating that bridge of flavour between the bitterness of Campari and sweetness of the plum sake.
I developed over 45 cocktail recipes for this bar. By far this Negroni was my favourite. The one i made for myself and my own taste.
Land Of Th Rising Plum Recipe Photo | Plum Sake Negroni
Ingredients
25ml Roku Gin
25ml Campari
25ml Plum Sake
Method
Fill a rocks glass full with fresh cubed ice straight from the freezer.
Pour in your Gin, Plum Sake and Campari.
Stir till you reach your preferred dilution.
Garnish with a dehydrated plum wheel.
Mezcal Negroni
As the name suggests, a Mezcal Negroni is much the same as a regular Negroni with a Mezcal twist. Now because Mezcal in itself can be quite bitter, for this recipe we will bring down the Campari a little and bring up the Sweet Vermouth. That way we ensure our Mezcal Negroni is nicely balanced.
Ingredients
25ml Mezcal
15ml Campari
30ml Sweet Vermouth
Method
Fill a rocks glass full with fresh cubed ice straight from the freezer.
Pour in your Mezcal, Campari, and Sweet Vermouth
Stir till you reach your preferred dilution.
Garnish with an orange peel.
Any questions unanswered? Comment below and i will get back to you as soon as possible.