Negroni (and the Americano)
Equal parts gin, red bitter aperitivo and sweet vermouth, stirred cold and served over one big cube with orange: Italy's bittersweet classic, plus the older "American-style" Americano it came from.
The Americano came first. Difford's Guide traces it to the Milano-Torino, equal parts Campari (from Milan) and red vermouth (from Turin), said to date from the 1860s at Gaspare Campari's café in Milan; add soda and it became the Americano, a name that means "American-style". Why "American" is disputed: Difford's gives both the popular story that American visitors asked for soda and an older explanation, that Italian vermouth makers sold bitters-flavored "vermouth Americano". Ferruccio Mazzon's 1920 bar guide already printed Americano recipes. The Negroni story is the famous one: Count Camillo Negroni, a regular at Caffè Casoni in Florence, asked bartender Fosco Scarselli in 1919 to strengthen his Americano, and gin replaced the soda (Difford's, citing Luca Picchi's research). But Wikipedia now says no origin claim is supported by contemporary sources: the gin, vermouth and Campari mix was printed in French books by 1929, a rival family credits a different Negroni, and the earliest known Italian "Negroni" recipe dates to 1947.
Why it works the kitchen science
Equal parts are forgiving
The bitter aperitivo, sweet vermouth and dry gin balance each other, so the drink holds even if one pour is a little off.
Stir, do not shake
An all-spirit drink stirred stays clear and silky; shaking would cloud it with air bubbles and over-dilute it.
Step by step
- Step 1
Method: Stirred. Chill a rocks glass with the large ice cube in it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Pour the gin, red bitter aperitivo and sweet vermouth into a mixing glass (or a pint glass).
- Step 3
Fill the mixing glass three-quarters with ice cubes.
- Step 4
Stir smoothly with a bar spoon for 20 to 30 seconds, until the outside of the glass is very cold and the drink has gained about a quarter in volume from melted ice.
- Step 5
Strain over the large cube in the chilled rocks glass.
- Step 6
Hold the orange peel skin side down over the drink and pinch it so the oils spray across the surface, rub it around the rim and drop it in (or tuck in the half orange wheel).
Negroni (and the Americano)
Serves 1 · 1 drink · 3 min total
Drink
- 1 oz (30 ml) London dry gin
- 1 oz (30 ml) red bitter aperitivo (Campari-style)
- 1 oz (30 ml) sweet red vermouth (rosso)
- Ice cubes, for stirring
Glass and garnish
- 1 large ice cube (about 2 inches)
- 1 wide strip of orange peel, or a half orange wheel
Method
- Method: Stirred. Chill a rocks glass with the large ice cube in it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Pour the gin, red bitter aperitivo and sweet vermouth into a mixing glass (or a pint glass).
- Fill the mixing glass three-quarters with ice cubes.
- Stir smoothly with a bar spoon for 20 to 30 seconds, until the outside of the glass is very cold and the drink has gained about a quarter in volume from melted ice.
- Strain over the large cube in the chilled rocks glass.
- Hold the orange peel skin side down over the drink and pinch it so the oils spray across the surface, rub it around the rim and drop it in (or tuck in the half orange wheel).
Adapted from Difford's Guide, "Negroni": 1 oz each of London dry gin, Italian red bitter liqueur and rosso vermouth, stirred in an ice-filled old-fashioned glass and garnished with orange; the IBA spec in Wikipedia is the same 30 ml of each. We stir it in a mixing glass first for a precise chill, then strain over one large cube. The Americano in Tips follows Difford's "Americano": 1 1/2 oz red bitter, 1 1/2 oz rosso vermouth, 2 1/2 oz soda in an ice-filled Collins glass. diffordsguide.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Make it an Americano: in an ice-filled tall glass, pour 1 1/2 oz red bitter aperitivo and 1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth, top with 2 1/2 oz soda water, stir twice and garnish with an orange wheel (Difford's). It is lighter, at well under one standard drink by our math.
- Keep vermouth in the fridge once opened; it is wine and goes flat in a few weeks.
- Our math for the Negroni: about 1.4 US standard drinks, assuming 90-proof gin, a 24% aperitivo and 16% vermouth.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Count Camillo Negroni invented it in Florence in 1919. Disputed: the popular story rests on Luca Picchi's 2002 research (Difford's; Wikipedia); a Negroni family genealogist says there was no Count Camillo (Difford's), and Wikipedia says no origin claim has contemporary support.
- A French general, Pascal Olivier de Negroni, invented it. Disputed: his descendants say so, but Wikipedia notes Campari did not exist in 1857 and he died in 1913.
- The Americano is named for American tourists during Prohibition. Disputed: Difford's says Americans liked the drink but points to an earlier date and to Italian "vermouth Americano"; Americano recipes were printed by 1920, the year Prohibition began.
- Equal parts. Documented as the IBA spec (Wikipedia); many bartenders push the gin higher.
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