Best of three? The perfect Negroni, a classic Italian cocktail, balances three ingredients; equal parts gin, vermouth and Campari. Like all good things, the Negroni has experienced a resurgence of late. I don’t recall exactly when I first tried it, but I do remember hearing that this deep red bitter cocktail was the new Aperol spritz. And as much as I love an Aperol spritz, the Negroni soon became my new favourite. We like to enjoy this particular cocktail before dinner as an aperitivo, with olives and other antipasti.
The Negroni is crisp, strong, deep vermillion red and best drunk from a reassuringly heavy crystal glass, the old fashioned kind. Stir and serve it on the rocks. Ideally, use one large ice cube, which enhances the dramatic red colour and the simplicity of the mixture. Alternatively, serve it up into a chilled cocktail coupe.
We were intrigued by what difference the gin makes. Gin is having a bit of a moment here in Britain, and we were keen to see how the choice of gin influences the overall flavour of such a simple but powerful cocktail.
For the other two ingredients, we used the original Campari and Martini Rosso. Both of these are easily accessible — they should be available to purchase in any large uk supermarket and in off licences too. They’re fairly standard choices for negroni ingredients, but you may wish to use something fancier!
Here are the results of the gin tasting session that Anika and I performed in order to discover what makes the perfect Negroni. We lined up a selection of gins from the Aladdin’s cave that is Anika’s liquor cabinet. For this tasting, we chose the following:
Chase Elegant Crisp
Nordes Atlantic Galician
Chase Pink Grapefruit & Pomelo
Fifty Pounds
Bombay Sapphire
First of all, the Chase Elegant Crisp gin. It tastes like a classic English gin with notes of juniper, apple and citrus and it lives up to its name. This made for a pleasantly smooth Negroni, well balanced with a clean and complex finish.
By contrast, the Nordes Atlantic Galician gin had a flavour that reminded us of bubblegum! Unfortunately, the sweeter notes of this gin accentuated the bitterness of the other ingredients and we were conscious of the difference in flavour.
We threw the Chase Pink Grapefruit & Pomelo into the mix, and it goes quite well with the other ingredients. The grapefruit flavour comes through, which would not make for a traditional Negroni, but it adds a nice citrusy twist to the cocktail.
Fifty Pounds gin was our least favourite. It was strong and harsh. It seems overly alcoholic in flavour and we couldn’t discern the individual tasting notes.
Finally, we turned to Bombay Sapphire. It has a strong gin flavour, and when we combined it with the vermouth and Campari, the cocktail tasted like a classic Negroni. This gin added strength and body without being overpowering or obtrusive.
Overall, our favourite choices of these five were the Chase Elegant and the Bombay Sapphire. We deemed these the best for a classic Negroni — they’re both good, and it depends on your preference! If you prefer a smooth, mellow English gin then we’re sure you’d love Chase in just about any gin-based cocktail. If you are more interested in a stronger gin flavour for your backdrop in the Negroni palette, then Bombay Sapphire is the one for you.
Tips:
Don’t be tempted to use a pre-made Negroni mix! Whilst this may save you time, the fun of this cocktail is in the selection of your three ingredients and seeing which brands make for the best of three! If the three elements are pre-prepared, where’s the fun in that? :)
For garnishes, a single orange peel is classic. For something different, you could try a slice of orange, or red/pink grapefruit (you could try the latter with the Pink Grapefruit & Pomelo gin above.)
Anika possesses more ice cube trays than any person should. But the upside is that we never run out of ice. If you can make this with those gorgeous large, clear ice cubes then do! I (Fleurie) love these because they make me feel like I’m drinking around a glacier. This is the only kind of ice cap that we want to see melt!
If drinking a negroni as an aperitivo, we love it with olives, and other slightly salty (af) nibbles such as Italian meats and smoked cheeses.
Oh and more thing… In her little Marylebone bubble, Anika once ordered a banana Negroni. Banana. Negroni. Let that sink in for a second... Or maybe it’s the best idea ever? Let us know what you think!
Thanks for reading our first ever blog post :)
Stay salty af,
Anika and Fleurie
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