The Negroni cocktail and its origins

Along with the Americano, Bellini and Spritz, the Negroni is one of the most famous Italian cocktails (and the second most popular in the world after the Old Fashioned). Three ingredients (Bitter Campari, Gin and Red Vermouth) come together in a glass with ice and create a melody that caresses the senses. Officially recognised by the IBA (International Bartenders Association), it is ideal as an aperitif (but also an excellent after dinner drink) due to its bitter taste and important aromatic charge. It was once used as a test to put bartenders through their paces. You were sure you were in a great bar if the person behind the bar knew how to make a Negroni.

There are many who appreciate this legendary cocktail, but few know that it originated in a bar in Florence. Although for many it was invented in 1919, according to Luca Picchi, author of two books on Negroni (“Sulle tracce del conte. The true history of the Negroni cocktail‘ and ’Negroni cocktail. Una leggenda italiana‘), the year of its birth may actually vary between 1917 and 1920. At the time, straddling Via de’ Tornabuoni and Via della Spada was the Caffè Casoni, frequented by a very peculiar character. He was a mild-mannered aristocrat, polyglot and lover of mixed drinks, who had travelled the world. His name was Count Camillo Negroni. One day, the count, in order to give his favourite cocktail, the Americano, a boost of energy, asked the barman Fosco Scarselli to replace the seltzer with a touch of gin, a distillate he had certainly come across during his wanderings. Instead of the usual slice of lemon, Scarselli put one of orange, and from that moment on, all the bar-goers, curious about this novelty, began to ask for ‘An Americano like Negroni’, then ‘An Americano alla Negroni’ and finally ‘A Negroni!’. Thanks to the great fame that accompanied the count at the time, news of the ‘new born’ spread quickly first throughout Tuscany and then Italy.

Incomprehensibly, the Negroni did not appear in European recipe books until at least 1947. In 1939, in the recipe book ‘Bar La Florida Cuña del Daiquiri Cocktail’ published in Cuba, the word Negroni was mentioned for the first time to present the combination of Bitter, Gin and Red Vermouth. Soon after the Second World War, in 1947, a written record of the cocktail finally appeared in Italy too. It happened in the recipe book ‘Cocktails Portfolio’ by Amedeo Gandiglio (with beautiful illustrations by Ettore Sottsass), where the author (and bartender) even proposed two versions of the cocktail: in addition to the recipe for the more classic Negroni, there was also a version called ‘Asmara Negroni’.

How is the Negroni prepared? The classic recipe is 30 ml of Gin, 30 ml of Red Vermouth and 30 ml of Bitter Campari. Not forgetting the orange slice.

But what are the tricks for a properly made Negroni?

The glass into which the cocktail is poured, conventionally a low tumbler, must be chilled before starting the preparation. Simply fill it with ice, then remember to strain off any water that forms.

As for mixing, the ingredients are dosed directly into the glass with a measuring cup (in jargon, jigger). It is filled with ice and then poured strictly in the order of Gin, Red Vermouth and Bitter. Finally, it is stirred gently with a long spoon and garnished with a nice orange slice.