Negroni
Few cocktails can be traced to their birth. The negroni is a rare exception. Culinary historians report that the negroni was created in 1919 by Fosco Scarselli, the bartender at the Casino bar in Florence. One of his regular customers, Count Camillo Negroni ordered an Americano with a “kick.” At the time, the Americano was the most popular cocktail at Casoni’s (dating back to the 1860s), a drink Fosco was so familiar with, he could make it with his eyes closed. The ingredients were always close at hand— Campari, red vermouth, a sparkling fizz of club soda garnished with a slice of lemon. Fosco met the count’s challenge by replacing the club soda with gin and the lemon with an orange and Allora, another Casoni classic was born.In the late 1960s, Mirko Stocchetto, owner of the Bar Basso in Milan, mistakenly used Prosecco instead of gin while making a Negroni, resulting in the now popular Negroni Sbagliato. Sbagliato means “messed up” in Italian. The cocktail was a pretty successful accident.
Servings: 1
Ingredients
- Gin, preferably London Dry Gin
- Campari
- Red vermouth, preferably Carpano Antica Formula
- Slice of orange or lemon peel
Instructions
- Fill a large double old-fashioned glass to the top with ice. Add equal portions of gin, Campari, and vermouth to the glass. Twist the peel to release the oils and rub it around the rim of the glass before serving.