Negroni Week is one of our favourite times of the year.
Not only does it give us the excuse to drink delicious Negronis (like we needed one), but also to support local bars who are raising funds for charity.
We run through the best Negroni recipes which you simply must try.
What is a Negroni?
The Negroni is a classic cocktail made from three ingredients: Gin, Vermouth and Campari.
Campari is an Italian liqueur, often used as an aperitif.
Made from infusing herbs and fruit in alcohol and water, it is bitter and dark red.
What is Negroni Week?
Between 13-19 September, bars across the world celebrate the Negroni cocktail and raise donations for charity.
Bars donate to good causes when they sign up to be listed on the Negroni Week official website. Throughout the week they serve Negronis and variations of the best Negroni cocktail recipes.
Negroni Week was created by Campari, the Italian spirit brand featured in the Negroni, and Imbibe Magazine.
Well, duh. No Negroni Week should be completed without trying this quintessential Campari cocktail.
Popular legend claims that the Negroni was created when Italian Count Camillo Negroni asked for the Club Soda in his Americano to be replaced with gin.
Ingredients
25ml Gin
25ml Sweet Vermouth
25ml Campari
Orange Zest
How to make a Negroni
Put cubed ice into a rocks glass and add all ingredients.
Stir five times and garnish with an orange zest.
Americano Cocktail
The Americano actually predates the Negroni.
According to many sources, the drink was created at the Camparino bar, ran by Gaspare Campari in the 1860s.
It was originally called the Milano-Torino because of its two main ingredients: Bitters from Milan and Vermouth from Turin.
It’s said the Americano name stuck when more American tourists started travelling to Europe during Prohibition.
Others say it’s based on the Italian word for bitter: “Amarricante”, referring to the flavour of the Campari.
In any case, we think “Americano” rolls off the tongue a little easier.
Ingredients
25ml Campari
30ml Red Vermouth
Top Soda Water
How to make an Americano Cocktail
Mix all ingredients with ice in a collins glass.
Garnish with an orange slice.
Boulevardier Cocktail
When Harry MacElhone published “Barflies and Cocktails” in 1927 he made the unusual step of including cocktails created by guests at his bar.
The Boulevardier, created by Erskine Gwynne, the publisher of Boulevardier Magazine, is one such recipe.
The word “Boulevardier” means wealthy socialite, so it was the perfect name for a magazine describing the antics of rich American expats living in Paris.
The magazine didn’t last long, unlike the cocktail of the same name, which has the perfect balance of bitter and sweet.
Ingredients
45ml Bourbon
20ml Red Vermouth
20ml Campari
1 Maraschino Cherry
How to make a Boulevardier Cocktail
Add the ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
Stir well for 30 seconds. Strain the mix into coupe glass.
Best Negroni Recipes with Fizz: Negroni Sbagliato
As we covered in our post on Easy Champagne Cocktail recipes this happy accident was the result of a bartender adding fizz to a Negroni by mistake.
INGREDIENTS
Champagne
30ml Campari
30ml Red Vermouth
HOW TO MAKE A NEGRONI SBAGLIATO
Pour the Campari and Vermouth into a rocks glass filled with ice.
Add a dash of Champagne. Garnish with an orange slice.
Best Negroni Recipe For A Smoky Finish: Mezcal Negroni
It was only in the late 20th century that the Negroni made its way across the Atlantic to America.
Finding popularity across New York, bars devoted to Tequila and Agave popularized this twist on the Negroni.
Both Tequila and Mezcal are made by distilling parts of the Agave plant.
The Mezcal gives the drink smokier notes, with a warm finish.
INGREDIENTS
30ml Mezcal
30ml Campari
30ml Sweet Vermouth
HOW TO MAKE A MEZCAL NEGRONI
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and stir.
Strain the mix into rocks glass with ice.
Best Negroni Recipe If You Love France: White Negroni
In 2001, whilst in France for a cocktail competition, then Plymouth Gin director Nick Blacknell, and bartender Wayne Collins decided to update the Negroni using local French ingredients.
The White Negroni took a while to become popular in bars, owing to the lack of French ingredients like Suze.
However, Audrey Saunders, bar director at New York’s Pegu Club, saw the potential and listed it at her venues.
One of the staff serving at Pegu was Jim Meehan, who went on to serve the drink at his PDT speakeasy and publish the recipe in The PDT Cocktail Book.
On a side note, if you haven’t read this seminal cocktail book already, you simply must.
Ingredients
30ml Gin
30ml Suze Liqueur
30ml Lillet Blanc
How to make a White Negroni
Stir all ingredients to a mixing glass.
Strain the mix into rocks glass with ice.
Best Negroni Recipe For A Sweet Cocktail: Contessa Cocktail
If you’re searching our list of Negroni recipes for something lighter and sweeter then the Contessa is a great option.
First served in 2006, as part of Boston’s Drink bar’s flight of three twists on the Negroni, the drink swaps out two of the main Negroni ingredients.
Is it still a Negroni? The creation by John Gertsen, Courtney Hennessey, and Ryan McGrale is probably more classed as a close relation.
It’s still delicious though, and should be on your list of cocktails to try.
INGREDIENTS
30ml Gin
30ml Aperol
30ml Dry Vermouth
HOW TO MAKE A CONTESSA COCKTAIL
Make it like a regular Negroni but switch the garnish for a lemon twist.
Old Pal
Another Negroni variation from Harry MacElhone’s famed Harry’s New York Bar in Paris.
In essence, it’s a variation on the Boulevardier, which in turn was based on the Negroni.
Swapping to dry vermouth makes it a lighter serve than the Boulevardier.
Ingredients
30ml Rye Whiskey
30ml Campari
30ml Dry Vermouth
How to make an Old Pal Cocktail
Mix all ingredients well in a mixing glass.
Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a twist of lemon.
Negroni Week: Create Your Own Negroni Recipes
The best part of Negroni Week is seeing the creativity shown by home bartenders across the world.
You don’t need to be an expert, just take the core ingredients of the Negroni, and adapt them to something new.
If you share your variation on the Negroni with the world, make sure to tag us @thecocktailsocietyuk in the comments.
We may feature it in our round up of the Best Negroni Cocktail Recipes to Try for Negroni Week 2021!
