Classic Negroni

Classic Negroni
Leah Nash for The New York Times
Rating
4(460)
Notes
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Nostrana, an Italian restaurant in Portland, Ore., has offered a Negroni of the Month since 2010, all original creations, some of them quite odd (squid ink Negroni, anyone?). But the house Negroni follows classic lines, using equal parts gin, vermouth and Campari. —Robert Simonson

Featured in: The Negroni Is a Century Old, but Just Hitting Its Stride

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Ingredients

Yield:1 drink
  • 1ounce gin, preferably Bombay Dry
  • 1ounce sweet vermouth, preferably Cinzano Rosso
  • 1ounce Campari
  • Orange twist
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine all liquid ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and stir until chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Squeeze orange twist over drink and slip into glass.

Ratings

4 out of 5
460 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

I prefer 2:2:2

We really prefer a 2:1:1 ratio, doubling the gin and using a smoother gin, like Hendricks or St. George

For me, the classic is best....1:1:1. I live in Italy and the Italians only use a London dry gin like Beefeater's or Tanqueray. Don't use the fancy stuff. Campari. The best vermouth for a Negroni is Rubino, the new Barolo based sweet red by Martini specifically for Negroni's and mixed drinks, but it will turn your Negroni deep red. Not a fan of the more vanilla/spice vermouths that taste like a Christmas cookie. And a big oily orange rind. Lots of ice, never straight up.

Beefeater's, Carpano Antica, Campari

My preferred Negroni recipe: Old fashioned glass partially filled with ice, add 1 1/2 oz Campari 1 1/2 oz Gin 1 t. sweet vermouth Large splash of club soda Stir, add Orange peel or orange slice garnish

Love the Negroni sbagliato: 1: Campari, 1 Vermouth, top off with spumante/sparkling wine. Makes a much lighter summer drink.

Great with St. George Gin and Bruto Americano, their bitter -- two of the USA's award-winning spirits.

1:1:1. Best combo, as per NYT some time ago, Campari, Tanqueray and Cocchi Vermouth di Torino (ideally in 500ml bottles to keep it always fresh). After two weeks from opening, vermouth turns tangier and spiecier, in that case I use 1:1:0.75.

2 Bombay, 2 Campari, I sweet vermouth, pour into bottle, place in freezer, open when required, pour over 1 block ice cube, 1 oily slab orange rind, 1/4 teaspoon orange bitters, smack your lips. The pre-chilling and large ice cube prevent it from getting too watered down.

All I know is this: I have yet to find my favorite Negroni, but neither have I found one that I didn’t like. I guess I’ll just have to keep searching … woe is me!

After looking for 7 years, Campari finally came to ecuador. I followed the Stanley Tucci method of 2:1:1. (His video went viral during last year) I didn’t fall in love until a friend suggested a Bolivardie... I switched the gin for whiskey and that’s my new drink. The orange peel is everything.

Best recipe for the perfect Negroni: Put a few plain salted potato chips in a small bowl. Mix your own preferred Negroni. Go ahead, experiment to find your preferred proportions. Put on some Pavarotti or Cecilia Bartoli. Sit back. Close your eyes. Say “la vita è bella”. PS: personally I think the best way to ruin a Negroni is to make it too sweet.

5 parts Suntory Roku gin 4 parts Léopold Bros. Apertivo 3 parts Antica sweet vermouth Roku is smooth. Léopold is what Campari used to be. Stir on ice, pour into a rocks glass with a single large ice cube. Twist an orange peel and drop it in. Perfect.

The classic Negroni uses Punt e Mes, not Campari.

Why bother to "Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice."? It's already in a glass with ice, it's already as diluted as it's going to get by the melted ice there, the new ice and old will both melt . . . that advice is, at best, an affectation. Now, if the new glass contains ice fresh from the freezer, it will be colder and thus not melt as fast. If that's the goal: Place the ice in the "rocks glass" and put them into the freezer 15 minutes before use. I do that for all lowball iced drinks

I find a splash of Angostura tops it off nicely... and agree with most of the comments to increase the gin ratio.

The recipe for a Negroni provided by the NY Times will result in a cloying, sickly sweet drink. I prefer 3 parts gin to 1 part of campari & sweet vermouth each. I also prefer an Anno 1960: 3 parts vodka, 1 part campari and dry vermouth each (garnish with twist of lemon).

Bombay (not Sapphire), Dolin Sweet Vermouth, Campari.

I prefer with vodka, 2 ounces vodka, 1 ounce vermouth and 1 ounce compari with a full slice of orange!

Valid - but sold in Italy as a Negroski.

I am quite a fan of Bully Boy Amaro instead of the Campari. I also use a 2:1:1 ratio (2 parts gin) for a less sweet drink, but that depends on one’s preference.

The Botanist, Carpano Antica, Campari, one large ice cube, garnish with orange twist and a spritz of Nikka Coffey Gin

Amazingly versatile drink as these notes show. My preference is 11/2:1:1. I think the cucumberness of Hendricks is wrong for the drink and the vanilla notes in Antica (which I love in a Manhattan) are also wrong. Bombay original as used by Nostrana is also my choice. De gustibus. I also once had a charred orange negroni at Primo in Rockland, Maine that blew me away. They charred orange slices, puréed them and added a dash to the drink.

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Credits

Adapted from Nostrana, Portland, Ore.

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