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In honour of World Bartender Day on February 24th, we've enlisted the expertise of our in-house mixologist and bar supervisor Jack to help you make the perfect Negroni.
The classic Negroni originated in Italy and is said to have been created for the first time in Florence. The story goes that Pascal Olivier Count de Negroni, a French general in the 1800s, asked the bartender at a local café to strengthen his favourite cocktail – the Americano – by adding gin rather than soda water. The bartender, Fosco Scarselli, did just that and added a twist of orange, rather than the Americano’s lemon, to signify it was a different drink – the Negroni.
Whether that story is true or not is questionable, of course. But what we do know is that the Negroni has become a timeless, classic aperitivo cocktail and a mainstay on many bar menus. Its rich burnt orange colour created by the Campari and vermouth is incredibly inviting, while the flavour has a deliciously thirst-quenching herby and zesty bitterness.
At Embankment Kitchen, we believe we serve the best Negroni in Manchester. We'd love you to come and try for yourself, but in case you can't make it here, you might be wondering what is the easiest way to make a Negroni at home. Read on for our top tips…
Some notes before you start...
- Negroni is a classic Italian aperitif (a drink to help stimulate the appetite before a meal).
- A Negroni is both one of the easiest cocktails to make but the hardest to get right.
- It uses only 3 ingredients, so finding the balance between the three flavours is crucial.
- It is a stirred cocktail so you will need cubed ice and a mixing spoon.
- At Embankment Kitchen, we use an equal split ratio of 25ml for each ingredient to create the perfectly balanced Negroni.
How to make the perfect Negroni
Ingredients for a Negroni
- London Dry Gin
- Campari
- Red Vermouth
How to make a Negroni cocktail
To make a classic Negroni, add your Gin, Campari and red vermouth to a glass (or mixing jar if you have one).
Fill the jar or glass with ice cubes and stir at a steady pace for 1 minute. The reason for stirring the cocktail at a steady pace for this amount of time is to create the perfect amount of dilution to balance the flavours of the three ingredients. It also takes the edge off the alcoholic burn.
To garnish, peel a strip of orange rind, squeeze the orange over the Negroni (to allow the orange oils to join the drink giving it a citrus aroma and a slight orange note to the drink). Rub the orange rind over the rim of the glass and twist and sit on top of the drink.
Voila! The perfect Negroni.
Our secrets for making the perfect Negroni
- Chill your glass before use. A chilled glass helps keep the cocktail cold prolonging your enjoyment of the drink.
- Use your favourite London Dry Gin. You want to taste the botanicals in the gin and only you can know which gin has your favourite blend. Also, a more expensive gin does not always mean a better quality outcome.
- Use fresh fruit to garnish. If you peel the oranges in advance they may dry out and lose the oils that create a difference in the Negroni.
- Watch your drink. When stirring cocktails, you can usually tell when the drink is close to being ready by the volume of drink increasing in the glass as well as the drink changing colour. The colour should still be vibrant - if it is starting to look muted, you’ve probably been stirring for too long.
- Share with friend. No not from the same glass! However a Negroni is a sipping drink and therefore gives you plenty of time to converse with friends and family.
Alternate versions of the Negroni
White Negroni
London Dry Gin, Lillet Blanc (wine-based liqueur), Suze Gentian Liqueur.
Garnished with a lemon or grapefruit twist.
Negroni Sbagliato
Prosecco, Campari, Vermouth.
Garnish with an orange twist.
Try the best Negroni in Manchester at Embankment Kitchen. Book your table here.
