The Bar Journal

Italy is known for its delicious food, glorious wine and the quality of the life it offers, but certainly not for its ability to create inspired cocktails. That being said there is a truly divine exception – a drink that can certainly claim the infamous title of the “King of the Aperitivo” and this is of course is the Negroni.

Northern Italy has a long tradition of fine wine, good food and excellent botanical bitters and vermouths. For many European bartenders Italy can be seen as the heart of our cocktail culture, just ask Peter Dorelli !!

Gary Regan in The Joy of Mixology even devotes two families to these cocktails :

French-Italian (spirit and vermouth base with a modifier) and Milanese style (bitters based). Of the many drinks from Europe one regularly features in a bartenders’ top three, the Negroni cocktail. A cocktail that deserves the title,

“Re dell` Aperitivo” (King of Aperitifs).

The drink is originally thought to have been created sometime around 1919-20 by one ‘Count Camillo Negroni’ in Florence and the creation of this drink goes hand in hand with the development of the aperitivo, an old ritual which the Italian people have adopted since the early XX century.

L`Aperitivo is a Latin word for “aperire” meaning “opening”.

It is stimulating for the stomach before the meal, and sharpens the appetite, but most importantly can be considered the time when Italians meet after work – especially before returning home before dinner. This daily occasion sees a short botanical-based drink being consumed in order to stimulate the stomach in preparation for the forthcoming meal they are about to enjoy. And it is particularly the bitter botanicals in the ingredients used that excite and cleanse the palate in preparation.

If you look at the history of Italian culture and its link to the spirits industry, two locations can be considered the main focal point – Both Milan and Turin. These two cities were the first to develop and build successful liquor products within the industry.

The capital of Milan boasted a gallery shop, where in 1860`s, it produced various forms of liquor which it then sold in the historic Caffe` Campari. Amongst the dozens of products invented here by Gaspare Campari, a bitter aperitivo with a brilliant red color, (given by use of a red cochineal) took on the name of Bitter Campari. At the same time, Turin became a vibrant, modern city, and the ancient custom to prepare wine infused with Artemisia (Wormwood) and others aromatic herbs, fortified with pure alcohol became increasingly popular and the modern vermouth as we know it was born.

In this era, Italian bartenders had to hand these two wonderful products, and they mixed these in equal parts, giving rise to the MI – TO or Milano Torino, an excellent aperitif, which married the products of two cities.

Another offering, and a variant pleasing to those individuals who did not like drinks containing a high percentage of alcohol, was the ‘Americano’, a drink charged with seltzer or soda water – which made a lighter, crisper option. Ice at this time was still an uncommon ingredient.

(As a side note, the name Americano likely relates to the American habit of watering these drinks down, much like the difference between an espresso and an Americano in coffee!)

So what about the Negroni? Where did this appear in history you might ask?

Well it said to have started in Florence, at Caffe` CASONI in the 1919-20circa, which was located in the heart of the city. This was a historical place where the aristocracy used to meet for the much famed ‘aperitivo.’

The bartender there, a gentlemen by the name of Fosco Scarselli, used to serve his customers the usual Americano drink which was hugely popular during the 1920`s.

A regular guest, Count Camilo Negroni, (a proud and one might say a liberal drinker) used to begin the evening with this much loved cocktail, which remained the same choice for several years.

Count Camilo Negroni was born in 1868 in Florence. From a noble and wealthy family, he became a VIP of his time: lively, creative, rebellious, traveler, was a character who would stand out. During his early years he spent sometime in the U.S., he certainly was a lover of adventure and never cared about tomorrow.

Count Negroni commonly found pleasure in talking with the bartender, a polite and cheerful individual, and the young skilful Fosco Scarselli was fascinated by the Counts life experience: From stories of foreign people, to his recollections of past travels to the United States and Europe.

Between 1918 and 1923 Camilo Negroni was often in London for business and certainly during his stay abroad was born the idea of adding gin in classic Americano.

During his travels. the taste of the Americano remind him the home land of Italy, so soft fragrance and bitter at the same time. One day, bored of drinking the same cocktail time and time again, Count Negroni asked the bartender to strengthen the Americano with another spirit, the Gin and then also remove the seltzer from the mix.

London Dry Gin was chosen, which would have greatly raised the alcohol content, but without changing the red color, and added a pungent feeling of bitter and the smell of juniper, a popular plant in Tuscany.

Also to be sure that his drink would be different to the normal Americano, usually garnish with lemon peel, the Count asked to garnish his dink with a slice of orange `.

Since that day, the Count would ask upon entering the Casoni, for his “usual” arousing the curiosity of other individuals who frequented the bar and soon people began demanding Count Negroni’s version of the Americano. This fashion quickly spread across the city, and when the Count asked Fosco Scarselli how he could name the drink, his answer was:

IT – “Io lo chiamerei Negroni, dedicato a Lei, signor Conte, che e` stato il primo a berlo”….

EN – “I would call this ‘The Negroni’ dedicated to you, who is the first to drink it”.

The Negroni cocktail is the quintessential aperitif – the natural sweetness drawn for Martini Rosso vermouth is anchored by the bitterness of Bitter Campari and then strengthened with the collaboration of Gin. The slice of orange enhances the flavors and aromas found within. But often with the most simple of drinks, the devil is the detail. It is crucial to adhere to the principle of using exactly equal parts of the three ingredients listed above for a perfect example of a true Negroni cocktail.

These days, a modern twist of the Negroni is keeping the legacy alive in Italy and slowly in other parts of the world, The ‘Sbagliato’ (Mistake, because was created by mistake in the Bar Basso in Milano at early 1970`s) is now one of the most popular cocktails in the Italian Cafés – combining the herbal notes of Martini sweet vermouth with the pungent Bitter taste of Campari, simply spritzed with a touch of Prosecco sparkling wine. And while many bartenders have their own variations on this iconic aperitivo, it must be sad there is only one true Negroni, “The King of Aperitif’s”.

1/3 London Dry Gin

1/3 Bitter Campari

1/3 Martini Rosso

Serve over ice cubes and garnish with orange slice.

Salute

GIUSEPPE GALLO