The House White Negroni
Since we know the ingredients are Gin Mare, Italicus, and Martini Extra Dry this is really all about getting the right ratio
Kinda wanted to title this “The White House Negroni” as a bit but…can’t bring the vibes down like that off the bat. Truly not sure this country makes anything bitter enough for that to even be a conceptual possibility in this trade war.
But as I mentioned last week, I want Italicus in the bar and I want it to drive a new house cocktail in a White Negroni. So I’ve spent the last week tweaking the recipe, and I think I got there in the end. Kinda fun where all of the ingredients are set up front so the only thing to mess with is the ratio.
All Equal Parts
As I said last week, this is a good drink. The nose is super crispy, the finish is sweet but still very botanical, and the orange is prominent. If you drink it, and you’re familiar with negronis, you’ll immediately think “white negroni.” But, the Italicus (really the bergamot) might be a bit overpowering here - there’s so much orange that the lighter botanical notes get a bit lost. Ever-so-slightly off balance.
Adjustment 1 - 2 Parts Gin, 1 Part Others
Since I wasn’t getting enough botanicals when everything was equal, I just doubled the botanicals. And it pretty much worked! The nose is pretty much the same, but you can pick up the juniper this time. It’s very balanced overall, but here I wonder if it’s not sweet enough - after all, a negroni is a study in contrasts and I don’t know if there’s quite enough happening in this one.
Adjustment 2 - 5 Parts Gin, 4 Parts Italicus, 3 Parts Vermouth
This is amping up the gin botanicals a bit and backing off of the crispy vermouth to try to get a bit more of an edge to the drink. It’s successful in that, with a larger up-front profile from the juniper than you get with all equal parts, but it’s only very slightly different from the “standard” version to my palate.
Adjustment 3 - 7 Parts Gin, 7 Parts Italicus, 1 Part Vermouth
The idea here is more using the vermouth as a “dash” to keep chasing an “edge” to the drink. And I think it finally hits that mark - it’s very botanical and very sweet, but still sharp enough to stay balanced. It doesn’t burn, and it’s not cloying, but it’s a big drink that packs a punch.
Adjustment 4 - 50/50 Gin and Italicus (which is cheating, to be clear)
I tried this just for fun because I wondered if Martini Extra Dry just wasn’t working with Italicus. And this is actually a solid drink. It’s not a negroni, it’s weirdly too intense for that in that the finish actually burns. But it’s also quite sweet! It would be a fantastic upscale shooter - a bit like “what if Fireball was actually interesting?” Might have to go in the real bar I will some day open with the fortune I have not yet made.
The Winner - Adjustment 3
The vermouth holds this one together just enough and keeps the drink on the rails, but since a 50/50 without the vermouth almost works on its own I think it makes sense that minimizing it is key to getting a balanced-but-edgy cocktail here.
24.2% is quite a bit above the House Negroni 21%, so I don’t know if I achieved my initial goal of developing a softer drink than the stereotypical White Negroni bill. But, I do think the heavy citrus profile still lends itself to lighter drinking, and it holds up great as it dilutes so you can take your time with it. I love this cocktail.