Simple, refreshing, and sophisticated without being pretentious, this Classic Negroni Recipe is made with just 4 simple ingredients. Shaken or stirred, and poured over ice, here you will learn How to Make a Negroni Cocktail to share and serve at your next dinner party.
Negroni
Strikingly beautiful, the Negroni is one of my personal favorite summertime aperitifs. Perfect for sipping slowly while enjoying warm summer evenings, this classic Italian cocktail is easy to mix together and requires no fancy or expensive equipment.
Made with equal parts gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth, this easy to memorize 2-minute cocktail is dry, bitter, and sweet all at the same time. The results are somewhat unexpected but equally refreshing and delicious.
Now that I’ve given you a little taste, let’s jump in and make some Negronis!
Negroni History
As with many of the most popular and much-loved recipes, their exact origins are usually pretty fuzzy. It’s not surprising then that the Negroni is on that list.
Here’s the story of how people think the Negroni came to be,
In 1919 Count Camillo Negroni walked into Caffè Giacosa in Florence, Italy. He requested that the bartender, Fosco Scarselli, strengthen his favorite cocktail, the Americano (a cocktail made with Campari, sweet vermouth, and club soda) by adding gin in place of the club soda. To signify that the two were different drinks, the bartender swapped the lemon found in Americanos for an orange peel.
Is this true? No one really knows. After all, some people doubt that Count Camillo Negroni was a count, or alive, at all.
One super fun fact though? Campari (the red, bitter one) gets its rich red color from crushed up little bugs called cochineals. At least, it did until 2006. Now it uses artificial dye.
Negroni Ingredients
To make this Negroni recipe, you’ll need the following four ingredients.
- Vermouth – A flavored, aromatic, and fortified white wine, Vermouth is often served as an aperitif, or more popularly, as the main ingredient in cocktails such as the Martini, Manhattan, and Negroni. Historically, there were only two types of Vermouth, sweet and dry. These days, however, you will see extra-dry white, sweet white (blanc or Bianco), red, amber (Ambre or Rosso), and rosé. With so many options, which Vermouth is best used to make a Negroni?
- Sweet or semi-sweet red-colored Vermouth (full disclosure– these images were of a Negroni made with gin, Campari, and sweet-white vermouth because I ran out of red vermouth. Still good, but technically not correct).
- Recommended brands include – Cinzano, Martini Rosso, and Dolin.
- Gin – I do not recommend substituting the gin for vodka, tequila, or any other liquor. Stick with gin. Now, depending on your own personal taste and preference, you may or may not have a strong opinion about the brand of gin you add.
- Best Gin for Negroni – I personally love gin and find that I’m not terribly picky. In general, I drink Tanqueray or, if I want something a little better Hendricks.
- Campari – A popular bitter Italian aperitif made by infusing herbs and fruit in alcohol and water. Characterized by its dark red color, the popularity of Campari has exploded thanks to the Spritz (also known as the Aperol Spritz), a simple Italian drink made by mixing Campari with Prosecco.
- Orange Peel – Traditionally, a Negroni is served with an orange peel. No clue how to slice off an orange peel? Carefully run peeling knife around a freshly washed orange.
While researching the Negroni, I learned that some people have very strong opinions about this fabulous cocktail. I urge you to try it for yourself and form your own opinions.
If you’re generally drawn to sweeter cocktails, it may take you a little time to appreciate the somewhat bitter, dry, refreshing, and sweet taste. I love dry cocktails, so I immediately loved the 1:1:1 ratio of Vermouth to Campari to Gin. If you’re struggling, however, you may want to consider dialing back the Campari to half an ounce and work your way up once you’ve developed a taste for the liquor.
How to make a Negroni
Make a Negroni in just a few simple steps:
- Combine the Vermouth, gin, and Campari. Add all three liquors to a mixing glass or shaker filled with ice.
- Stir or shake. Stir or shake until combined and chilled.
- Prepare your glass. Fill a rocks glass with ice. Strain mixture into the glass.
- Garnish. Add 1 orange peel to each glass and serve.
Tip – Negronis don’t taste as delicious when they’re watered down. To prevent this from happening too quickly, serve your cocktail in a rocks glass with 1-2 large ice cubes. The larger the ice cube, the less surface area there is for melting. I always have these ice trays filled and frozen for my next Negroni.
Love this Classic Negroni Recipe? Check out,
- Espresso Negroni
- Classic Margarita Recipe (How to Make a Margarita)
- Paloma Recipe
- Mojito Recipe; How to Make a Mojito
- How to Make a Gin and Tonic
- Spiced Mulled Wine Recipe
If you try this Negroni Recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
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Negroni Recipe
Tools
- rocks glass
Ingredients
- 1 ounce Campari
- 1 ounce Gin
- 1 ounce Red Vermouth - sweet or semi-sweet
- orange peel - to garnish
Instructions
- Add the Campari, gin, and vermouth into a mixing glass (or cocktail shaker) filled with ice. Stir well until chilled.
- Strain into a rocks glass filled with large ice cubes and garnish with an orange peel. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Large ice cubes work best as it's less surface area for the ice to melt. These are the ice molds used in this recipe.
