Some Interesting Negroni Discoveries
Turns out, not every drink that follows the "Negroni Rules" actually drinks like a Negroni
When I wrote the Rules for the Negroni last week, I really did expect any drink made according to those rules to drink like a Negroni. The resulting permutations of what my house Negroni could be were daunting, but exciting. After a whole lot of testing, I’ve discovered I was wrong. Indeed, Negronis have a few additional rules that must be followed, or you risk a drink that isn’t a Negroni at all.
Negronis are Red
The cocktail above was made with 1 ounce of gin, a half ounce each of sweet and dry vermouth, and a half ounce each of Meletti and Averna. It’s a great drink, one that I’d be happy to receive or serve at a good cocktail bar. It is, however, not a Negroni because it is not red.
Now to be fair, food coloring wouldn’t fix this problem. The red needs to come from Campari. Without at least some Campari, the drink just doesn’t have the same bite, and that bite is what makes the drink.
But, what amount of Campari is required? I’m still not entirely sure, but I think I’m close enough to add a new Rule of the Negroni: A Negroni has at least a half ounce of Campari.
Negronis Have Sweet Vermouth
A full ounce of dry vermouth in a Negroni doesn’t yield the same herbaceous backbone that you look for in the classic. Whatever comes out is a headier drink, but it’s not a Negroni. You need the sugar and the oregano of the sweet vermouth to cut through the rest of the drink and give it some body.
Once again, I don’t know that I’ve dialed into the true “minimum” to meet the rule. But, again, I think I’m close enough: A Negroni has at least a half ounce of sweet vermouth.
Dialing In On the House Recipe
While I think a Negroni that isn’t 50/50 sweet/dry vermouth and Campari/SomeOtherAmaro could certainly be delicious, that won’t be my house Negroni. I’m going to stick with that 50/50 split for my house recipe, however - every drink I’ve made with a 50/50 split vs a 2/3 - 1/3 (or something similar) has been better for me, and, frankly, 50/50 is just so much easier to manage. And in a house cocktail, I think that ease of creation goes a long way.
So, that means there’s only 1 open question: what amaro (or mix of amari) makes up the last half ounce of the drink?
That’s what I need to do a whole lot more experimenting to find out, as soon as I get back from Australia…