Negroni Cocktail

A negroni cocktail is a cocktail that may be prepared using gin, sweet vermouth and campari.The negroni cocktail first appears to have been served in Florence, Italy, in 1919. The drink gets its name from Count Camillo Negroni who apparently asked the bartender at Caffè Casoni (now called Caffè Giacosa) to strengthen his favourite cocktail, the negroni sbagliato (which includes white wine instead of gin). The bartender substituted the wine with gin to make the cocktail more palatable for the Count. When Negroni sampled it, he exclaimed, "This is my kind of negroni!"

In other regions the negroni is often noted as being made with equal parts of any base spirit along with equal part of its modifier such as an americano which would have soda water instead of gin or a negroni sbagliato which has no gin. A negroni sbagliato is usually served in a large rocks glass filled with ice, while the negroni is served in an old-fashioned glass without ice.

Ingredients:

* 1 ounce gin (typically negroni uses London dry gin)

* 1 ounce Campari

* 1 ounce sweet vermouth (typically negroni uses Italian vermouth)

Instructions:  Mix first two ingredients in a glass with ice, stir until chilled. Add the last ingredient and garnish with an orange peel.

Negroni cocktails are often served with an orange slice or an orange peel, which is commonly expressed before drinking; some people like to use a grapefruit slice instead.

Have a go at this negroni cocktail recipe and tell us what you think...

Until next time!