Boozehound - Jason Wilson [54]
But here’s the thing. When I mixed up a batch of Negronis, my reaction, to my surprise and chagrin, was pretty much, meh. In theory, I wanted a Negroni, but in reality, the Negroni was lacking something. That distressed me. What if all the fancy-schmancy tasting I’ve been doing lately has irrevocably rewired my palate? What if I can never again go back to being the young, carefree person who loved nothing better than the simple pleasures of a Negroni in summertime?
My solution: I would use my hard-won cocktail wisdom and experience to reengineer, and possibly improve, the Negroni. Starting with the classic Negroni formula and then deviating from it, I would illustrate how nearly all good new cocktails evolve. In doing so, I would also reclaim my old drink and perhaps a part of my youth. Or something like that.
At first I thought the Campari was the problem. I’d been tasting a lot of different bitter spirits lately, including several obscure local Campari competitors from Italy. Perhaps Campari now seemed a little too old hat? So, to start, I stirred up a Negroni alternative called the Cyn-Cin, which substitutes Cynar for the Campari. It was excellent.
CYN-CIN
Serves 1
1 ounce gin
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Cynar
1 dash orange bitters
2 orange wedges, sliced ½ inch thick
Fill a shaker halfway with ice. Add the gin, vermouth, Cynar, and bitters, along with a squeeze of juice from one of the orange wedges. Shake well, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the remaining orange wedge.
But I was still restless, so I decided to switch gins. I’d been using Tanqueray, and I shifted to Hendrick’s, which is softer, with rose and cucumber notes. And because I did that, I figured I’d make a drink created by my friend, bartender Charlotte Voisey. I switched out the vermouth for Lillet Blanc. I also traded Cynar for Aperol, which is Campari’s sweeter, sunnier, bright orange cousin. After mixing those three, I now had an Unusual Negroni, which was also wonderful.
UNUSUAL NEGRONI
Serves 1
1 ounce Hendrick’s gin
1 ounce Lillet Blanc
1 ounce Aperol
Orange peel twist, for garnish
In a mixing glass filled halfway with ice, combine the gin, Lillet Blanc, and Aperol. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange peel twist.
Recipe by Charlotte Voisey, brand ambassador for Hendrick’s Gin
While I enjoyed the Unusual Negroni very much, I realized what I really wanted to do was get rid of the gin. So I brought back the sweet vermouth and the Campari, put away the gins, and pulled out a bottle of prosecco. Then, I made what is called a Negroni Sbagliato—basically a Negroni that calls for sparkling wine instead of gin. Sbagliato means “wrong” or “mistaken,” as in, “I messed up and mistakenly put prosecco in this Negroni instead of gin.”
NEGRONI SBAGLIATO
Serves 1
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet vermouth
2 ounces prosecco or Asti Spumante
Thin whole slice of orange, for garnish
Fill an old-fashioned glass with ice cubes. Add the vermouth and Campari, then top with the prosecco. Stir to combine. Garnish with the slice of orange.
But I still wasn’t finished, so I pulled out two of my favorite base spirits, tequila and bourbon. For the tequila, the always-excellent cocktail blogger Paul Clarke, at Serious Eats, showed me the way by blogging a recipe created by Bastian Heuser, one of Germany’s top bartenders. It’s called the Agavoni, and it replaces the Negroni’s gin with blanco or silver tequila. (Get it? Agave plus Negroni?)
AGAVONI
Serves 1
¾ ounce blanco or silver tequila
¾ ounce sweet vermouth
¾ ounce Campari
2 dashes orange bitters
Grapefruit peel twist, for garnish
Fill an old fashioned-glass with ice cubes. Add the tequila, vermouth, Campari, and bitters. Stir briefly until mixed and chilled. Garnish with the grapefruit peel twist.
NOTE : Use a good, unaged 100 percent agave blanco, or silver, tequila.
Recipe by Bastian Heuser, editor at the German bar magazine, Mixology
But even the Agavoni