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The Negroni is the bartender’s favorite classic and, for five years running, the bestselling classic cocktail at the world’s best bars. It is a perfectly balanced equal-parts drink of gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, stirred and served over ice with a slice or twist of orange.
Its story starts in Florence around 1919. As it is usually told, Count Camillo Negroni asked the bartender at Caffè Casoni, Fosco Scarselli, to strengthen his usual Americano by swapping the soda water for gin. Scarselli added an orange garnish to mark the difference, and the Count’s drink soon became the town’s drink. The Negroni family later opened a distillery to bottle a ready-made version, and over the following century the cocktail spread from Italian cafés to nearly every serious bar menu in the world.
What makes it so enduring is balance. Campari brings bitter orange and herbs, the sweet vermouth adds rich, spiced sweetness, and the gin gives it a dry botanical backbone. No single ingredient wins, and the result is bittersweet, complex and endlessly riffable. Swap the gin for prosecco and you have the Negroni Sbagliato, or drop it entirely for soda water and you are back to the Americano that started it all.
Glass: Old fashioned glass | Strength: Strong | Serves: 1 | Prep Time: 3 minutes
Bartenders tip: Stir, never shake, so it stays clear and silky. A single large ice cube melts slowly and keeps the drink from watering down. Use a sweet vermouth you would happily sip on its own, kept in the fridge, since it makes up a third of the drink. A London dry gin is classic, but a bolder gin will stand up to the Campari even better. Some older bar guides serve it up over cracked ice or add a splash of soda, but on the rocks is the modern standard.
Steps
- Add the gin, Campari and sweet vermouth to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled, about 20 to 30 seconds.
- Strain into an old fashioned glass over a large ice cube.
- Garnish with an orange slice or a twist of orange peel and serve.
