Put down the Manhattan; try these Negroni recipes for Negroni Week


The Negroni is the hottest non-whiskey cocktail in the game, so much so that it’s actually Negroni Week right now. Don’t be that asshole that makes yet another Manhattan this weekend, try one of these negroni recipes instead.

The Negroni is a fairly simple gin cocktail. The official IBA (International Bartenders Assosiation) recipe is equal parts Gin, Campari, and sweet red vermouth, with about an ounce of each and an orange twist. Who doesn’t love a cocktail comprised of booze, booze, and booze? Bartenders have been putting their own spin on the classic for Negroni Week, and some of the results are tremendous.

For those who like to socialize, check out the Negroni Week website to see which bars near you are participating. Proceeds from each negroni sold until Sunday go to the charity selected by the bar.

The Jasmine

Paul Harrington, Spokane, WA

  • 1½ Beefeater London Dry Gin
  • ¾ Part Fresh Lemon Juice
  • ¼ Part Campari
  • ¼ Part Cointreau

Glass: Cocktail
Garnish: Lemon Twist

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake. Fine-strain into a chilled glass and garnish.

White Negroni

Wayne Collins, London

  • 2 Parts Beefeater London Dry Gin
  • 1 Part Lillet Blanc
  • ¾ Part Suze

Glass: Cocktail OR Rocks
Garnish: Lemon Twist

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass, and stir with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, or over fresh ice into a rocks glass, and garnish.

Beretta

Strange Weaver

Dominic Alling, Beretta (San Fran)

  • 1 ounce Beefeater Dry Gin
  • 1 ounce El Dorado Rum
  • .75 ounce Cocchi Torino
  • .5 ounce Campari
  • .5 ounce lemon
  • Crushed ice
  • Orgeat foam

From the ‘tender: “As for variation of a negroni I’ve been really into shaken negroni’s lately. In order to do so I added a little bit of citrus. With summer around the corner I wanted to create a great warm weather negroni and pull inspiration from the tiki gods. I added rum, tweaked the default recipe a tiny bit and shake over crushed ice. Then I layer the top with a orgeat foam and orange zest to give it that snow cone look and feel.”

Depth Charge No.3

Kevin Dowell, Foreign Cinema (San Fran)

  • 1 1/4 oz Beefeater Dry Gin
  • 3/4 oz Punt E Mes
  • 1/2 oz Campari
  • 1/2 oz House Spirits Coffee Liqueur (feat. Stumptown Cold Brew)
  • 3 drops Sea Salt Tincture (1 part sea salt to 10 parts water)

Method: Build in mixing glass and stir. Strain into a rocks glass over a big cube and garnish with an orange peel and a coffee bean.

From the ‘tender: “The ‘Depth Charge’ was created with one of my favorite things in mind – coffee. I think the bitterness from Campari along with some of the rich, dark herbal notes from sweet vermouth are reminiscent to the flavors in coffee. I took a classic Negroni recipe and scaled down the Campari, replaced the standard sweet vermouth with Punt E Mes (a slightly bitter italian vermouth), and added a dry coffee liqueur from House Spirits Distillery in Portland (made with Rum, Stumptown Cold Brew, cinnamon, and orange peel). I throw in a few drops of Sea Salt tincture (simply one part sea salt to ten parts water) to cut through the richness of the vermouth and magnify the botanicals in the gin.”