How To Make The Perfect Negroni

Ah, the Negroni… a classic Italian cocktail that’s easy to make, and even easier to utterly fuck up. Said to have been invented in 1919 by a Count with a taste for hard liquor, the ruby red beverage is made up of just three essential components: sweet vermouth (25ml), Campari (25ml), and gin (25ml).

It’s a straightforward chorus of alcohol that can create a jarring din if you’re not careful. Use too much vermouth and your drink will taste like tree bark; too much Campari will overpower the ensemble with its bittersweet punch; and too much gin will leave you wincing after every sip. When it’s made right though, a Negroni is damn near perfect – a heady and potent concoction that goes great before a meal, slowly seeping into every pleasure nook inside your skull.

Even if you’ve never experienced the joys of a Negroni before you might have found yourself intrigued to test one out during lockdown thanks to a mixture of A) boredom, B) the drink’s ‘gram friendly aesthetic, and C) its recent championing by celebs like Stanley Tucci.

Well, first things first, you should not follow any of Tucci’s advice on how to make the drink. Sorry, Tucc’, I loved you in The Devil Wears Prada, but your Negroni game is off.

Contra to Tucci’s 2:1:1 shaken-not-stirred variation, a simple 1:1:1 ratio is the best way to approach making the cocktail at home. To start, simply add 25ml of sweet vermouth, Campari, and gin into a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir that with a bar spoon until the glass turns cold to touch. If you haven’t got a fancy mixing glass, use any tall glass you’ve got on hand. If you haven’t got a bar spoon, any long spoon or chopstick-like device will do. The Negroni isn’t just for Florentine counts anymore.

Once you’ve finished stirring, strain and pour the mixture into a tumbler crowded with two large ice cubes. Next, you’re going to want to cut off a 5cm strip of orange peel using a sharp knife. Express that peel, and its zesty oils, into your drink by rinsing it like a wet towel over the top of your glass before throwing it in for a swim. That’ll add a pleasant citrus note to the drink and... that’s it. You’ve just made a Negroni. Welcome to the club.