In praise of the Negroni

Two Negronis and a few nibbles - simply heaven!



Oh how I love a good Negroni!


If you’ve never tasted this classic Italian cocktail, you’re in for a treat. A good Negroni represents the perfect combination of strength, sweetness and bitterness and comes in a fabulous deep red, with a chunk of orange on the side. As an aperitif, it has so much going for it. It’s fresh and sharp enough to enjoy al fresco on a hot summer evening, before a casual dinner of roast chicken salad, but it’s also rich enough to serve in the autumn before a more formal affair with multiple courses and a flight of fine wines. Believe me: I’ve done both, and several stages in between!

The Negroni is bitter. It’s a drink for adults who have out-grown the need for everything to taste like pop; a proper, grown-up cocktail. The bitterness comes from two directions: first, the Campari, a favourite aperitif drink of mine that is flavoured of gentian root; secondly, the vermouth, deep and herbal. Add to that heady mix a shot of gin and you’re bound for aperitif paradise.

You may have seen cocktail waiters shaking gin and Campari together and straining them into a Windsor martini glass. You’re drinking in the wrong bars. A true, Italian Negroni is served in a heavy-bottomed tumbler and is always constructed in the glass over ice. There’s something quite manly about it, I think. Its advantage for us aperitif-hosts is the simplicity of its recipe. It’s all equal quantities, so you can mix them in front of your guests with all the flourish and confidence of an Italian waiter and never have to worry about measuring.

Ideal foods to serve with a Negroni are, of course Italian. How about putting together a sharing board of sliced ham or salami, small cubes of smoked provolone or scamorza cheese, olives and grilled artichokes in oil? More adventurous hosts could try making their own bruschetta, served warm and topped with tapenade or finely chopped tomato flesh with a little basil.


How to make the perfect Negroni

(per serving)
Half-fill a heavy tumbler with ice cubes and add:
20ml (or whatever convenient measure you have) of gin
20ml of red vermouth
20ml of Campari

Stir steadily for about half a minute, lifting the ice cubes through the drink, rather than just whirling them around.

Garnish with half a slice of orange.



 Next time: a little experiment with vermouths

Comments

  1. E.M. Powell17 September 2018 at 20:10

    Love this, especially 'whatever convenient measure' of gin. Far more appealing than boring old mls or fl ounces!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Aperitif Guy17 September 2018 at 20:16

      Thanks, E.M. A tablespoon will do. I have learnt to my cost that a perfectly innocent-looking 30ml jigger turns into a lethal weapon when you use it to measure 3 doses of spirit! I have a 20ml measure that I use these days. It means I can have a second drink and retain my appetite.

      Look out for my post on Martinis in a few weeks for more advice on measuring spirit without killing your guests.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fine food with fine beers

Image
We've been drinking beer with food for centuries, but it's only in the last couple of decades that people have begun to give serious thought to matching food with beer. In the English-speaking world, especially, beer used to be seen as a working man's drink, and therefore unworthy of respectful consideration; wine was the drink of sophisticates. Working men were not expected to have discerning palates and an interest in what makes food taste good. As wine has become more popular, though, so too has to wine-drinkers' interest in food matching. I wouldn't have a blog if that cultural shift hadn't happened. Regardless of cultural class, these days there can be few drinkers unfamiliar with the idea of serving certain drinks with certain foods to enhance the appreciation of both. With the growth of interest in craft ales and micro-brewing, beer, too, has positioned itself as a drink for discerning and sophisticated drinkers, and sophisticated drinkers like to
Read more

Spritz and more

Image
Aperol Spritz About fifteen years ago, the Beloved and I visited Venice on holiday. Every guidebook recommended we try the local aperitif drink. In Venice at the time, spritz was made with still wine and a little soda and flavoured with one of several bitter liquors. Our guidebook noted that, while Campari was generally the preferred flavouring south of the Grand Canal, most bars in the tourist north served spritz with Aperol, then virtually unknown at home. Perhaps the students and celebs on the south islands like the higher alcohol content of Campari! It was served in a straight-sided glass (usually a high-ball), filled with ice, fruit and olives. How times have changed! I've just done a quick Google image search, my search-term being simply "spritz." Most of the images show bright orange Aperol spritz in large wine glasses, although there are some old fashioned glasses. Orange slices are frequent, and there are a couple of raspberries and blueberries to be
Read more

Once upon a Time... (Apologia pro curriculo meo)

Image
I'm often asked how I got into hospitality as a profession. The truth is it's only been my main source of income for just under two years. Before that, I was just an experienced amateur. Now, I freelance as a features writer, cocktail tutor, consultant/trainer to the industry and sommelier at a highly-respected establishment in North Yorkshire. Not a bad trajectory for someone who was a gibbering wreck under the table a few years ago, eh? Let's revisit a significant phrase from that second sentence: "...only been my main source of income..." Nobody's skills and knowledge are limited to their field of employment, and I have been cooking, hosting, drinking and even teaching all my adult life. My journey to my current, happy career has taken longer than many people's, but I can trace a clear path that has led me here. Just as a canal has its towpath, so my former career in social care has a parallel path that I have walked in hospitality. Regular or longstand
Read more