Happy Negroni Week! Negroni Week every year is a great opportunity to go out and drink a Negroni in support of a good cause! This year, from June 24 to 30, 2019, Negroni Week is extra special as it the 100th Anniversary of the Negroni! Since last week we were talking about Campari (missed it? You can read it here), this week to celebrate Negroni Week (and the upcoming Canada Day holiday), I thought we should talk about the most famous Campari cocktail.
For those of you not familiar with this cocktail of equal parts Campari, gin and sweet vermouth, it was invented in Florence at the Caffè Casoni (now Caffè Roberto Cavalli). Bartender Forsco Scarselli was asked by patron Count Camillo Negroni to make his normal drink, the Americano, a bit stronger. Scarselli obliged by switching the club soda for gin and replacing the lemon with an orange slice. The rest, as they say, is history!
Count Camillo was a bit of a cowboy himself. No, literally. Besides living in London for a stint (where he perhaps picked up a love for gin?), he lived and worked in the United States as an “adventurer, cowboy, banker and riverboat gambler in the Wild West”!
Negroni Week is sponsored by Imbibe Magazine and Campari as a way to give back to the community. Go into a participating bars, order a Negroni, and they will donate a portion of the funds to charity. Since 2013, Negroni Week has raised over $2 million!
Want to find out where you can support this great cause? Click here to see what bars and restaurants will be supporting Negroni Week.
Since we’re also heading into the Canada Day long weekend, I thought I’d suggest some Negroni variations. No matter how you mix them up, there is one thing that most people will agree on: there is no Negroni without Campari!
Cheers!
Thanks to Melissa Watson, NegroniQueen, for this great shot of a dice game. Roll it up and see what you can mix up!
The Classic Negroni: equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth
Barrel-Aged Campari Negroni: barrel age your Campari (or your mixed Negroni) for four-to-six weeks!
Boulevardier: substitute rye whisky or bourbon for gin. Thanks to Dave for the photo!
BouleKAVIer: substitute Kavi Coffee Whisky (a Canadian company!) for the gin.
Mezcal Negroni: substitute Mezcal for gin; use tequila to make an “Agavoni”, or a “Rosita” or “Tegroni”.
The Figroni: there are a few variations for this one! You can substitute Figaro Fig liqueur for sweet vermouth, split the Figaro and sweet vermouth 50/50, or use Figaro instead of the gin. The beauty I tried (photo below) by Doriano at Porto51 in Ischia was the version where the Figaro is substituted for the sweet vermouth with the added twist that it was then smoked!
The Dark Side:substitute Goslings Dark Rum for the gin, then split the Campari 50/50 with Cynar.
Sbagliato: substitute Prosecco or sparkling wine for the gin. More bubbles = more fun!
However you make it, go out and raise a glass for a good cause! Happy Canada Day everyone!
(Want to read about the evolution of the Negroni? Check out this past post – here.)
