The Negroni
The Negroni is a true Italian classic, and who better to take you through its history than our very own Bar Manager, Astrit Limani...
The Negroni exists thanks to aperitivo, an Italian social ritual which takes place between 6-9pm every day. It was first made fashionable by the aristocrats that frequented the establishments in the city of Torino in the second half of the 19th century.
In 1860, Gaspari Campari started serving his signature drink, the Milano Torino, by combining exact quantities of Campari from Milano and Italian vermouth from Torino, plus a dash of soda water. However, Count Camilo Negroni, an expat, elevated the cocktail to the classic we know today. Being a regular customer at the Casoni Bar in Florence, he asked the bartender for a more robust version of his Americano. The bartender abided by switching the soda water for the gin. It became so popular that other guests started ordering one of Count Negroni’s drinks, which became known as the Negroni.
There are so many ways to make a Negroni too - I love using demi-sec vermouth to mask the bitterness or creating a full-bodied Negroni with Bathtub gin or evening swapping out the vermouth for Barolo Chinato.
To give you even more choice in the restaurant, we've created a section dedicated to Negronis in our bar menu. Il Negroficio Di Theo consists of 10 gins, 12 vermouths and eight bitters that you can choose from to create your own personalised drink.
But if you're looking for something really special, then our Signature Negroni—based on the Solera system—is for you. This means we age a secret recipe of gins, vermouths and bitters in a barrel, and keep it topped up as we go along.
With autumn in mind, we're serving a Barrel-aged Boulevardier cocktail in the restaurant - a version of the Negroni made with whiskey instead of gin. It’s the drink we want to reach for on a chilly autumn evening.
You can make it at home using the recipe below - and if you're lucky enough to have an oak barrel at home (or you fancy buying one), then you can make a larger batch and age it.
Boulevardier cocktail
Serves one
Ingredients
45ml Woodford Reserve rye whiskey
25ml Punt e Mes vermouth
25ml Campari
Two drops of cherry bitters
Method
If you're just making one cocktail, add all of the ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Serve straight up.
If you're aging in a barrel, multiple the ingredients to the volume that your barrel holds and age for three to four weeks.