Speakeasy: How to Order a Negroni Like a Grownup

Sidle up to the bar and order a drink like a seasoned alcoholic with our new series, Speakeasy. We’ll cover the history and origins of a drink, the spirits involved, and how to ask for a drink like a pro.

The History of the Negroni

This is a wild ride. Most reports of the negroni are somewhat similar: the drink goes back to Florence in 1919. Allegedly, the cocktail was invented when a customer asked a local bartender to strengthen up his usual drink, an Americano made with Campari, sweet vermouth, and club soda.

The customer was Count Camillo Negroni and (we’re not making this up), he acquired a taste for strong drinks while working as a rodeo clown in the U.S. The bartender swapped in gin and the negroni was born.

Today, bartender Gary Regan, author of The Negroni: Drinking to La Dolce Vita, estimated that the drink now “appears on about 300 percent more cocktail lists than 10 years ago”.

The cocktail surged in the 2000s, when gin and bitters once again became popular. According to Conde Nast Traveler, the Campari brand upped the ante when they bought Wild Turkey and then branded 2011 “The Year of the Negroni”, to celebrate Campari’s 150th anniversary.

Now, negroni has its own week, with more than 3,000 bars in 42 countries mixing up the cocktail. [pagebreak]

What’s in a negroni?

The negroni is a pretty simple drink: equal parts Campari, sweet vermouth, and gin, poured over ice, stirred, and garnished with an orange twist. Let’s break it down.

Campari is a bright red bitter most often enjoyed as an aperitif or in cocktails, most famously of course, the negroni. It starts sweet then drops to a bitter finish and is most often described as tasting herbal with notes of bitter orange.

Sweet vermouth is a fortified wine; that means it’s infused with herbs and spices and usually sweetened and “fortified” (that is, spiked with brandy). There are two types of vermouth, with sweet vermouth being more bitter and having a slight licorice taste.

Gin is a clear spirit distilled from grain or malt and flavored with juniper berries. Like Campari, it’s often described as herbal and can wander over into the fruity territory. [pagebreak]

What does a negroni taste like and how should I order it?

If you’ve never had a negroni before, you can be put off by your first sip, but stick with it. Negronis are powerful, bitter, and astringent but when mixed perfectly, balanced. And since there’s not much wiggle room here (the ratio is 1 to 1 to 1, remember), you’ll only taste the difference with your choice of sweet vermouth and gin.

But since there’s not much else to it, no need to give the bartender any instruction. Once you’ve developed a taste and palate for them, you can start experimenting with brands. Salud. Or as they say in Italy, saluti!