THE Cocktail
Three simple ingredients come together in the most basic of proportions. Make this with some care and you have the perfect cocktail (at least in my mind).
It is not officially known where and when the Negroni was created but it is commonly attributed to Count Camillo Negroni in Florency, Italy in 1919.
Legend has it, Count Negroni asked Fosco Scarselli, a bartender at Caffe Casoni to exchange the soda in his typical Americano with gin because it was one of those days (my interpretation.) Scarselli also swapped the lemon garnish out for orange to show that it was a different drink. (As is often the case, legend seems to be wrong.)
Regardless of where, when and by who, someone in Italy a long time ago graced us with the perfect combination that is the Negroni. Interesting fact…Campari, which was created in 1869, originally got its brilliant red color from Carmine dye which is made from crushed insects. Campari stopped using Carmine in 2006 but you can still find similar bitters made with the crushed insects from producers like Leopold Bros.
This version of the Negroni has been aged for 30 days with toasted birch staves then charcoal filtered for a clean finish.
Saturday, July 25th, 2020 in Aspinwall, PA
Pour the contents of the bottle into a mixing glass full of clean ice. Stir for 30 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. Garnish with an orange peel.
Pour Campari, gin, vermouth and bitters into a mixing glass full of clean ice. Stir for 30 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. Garnish with an orange peel.
A peel is considered a clean, bright colored peel from the identified citrus in a ½ to ¾ inch wide piece with no pith.
A dash is either a drop (using a standard dropper) or two strong shakes from a bottle.
A pinch is far less than a baking pinch. Remember, this is a cocktail, not a loaf of bread.
A sprig is a clean, bright colored portion of the identified herb or plant. Not a forest, a sprig (unless otherwise noted).
Tradition says you shake cocktails that contain cream, egg whites and juices and you stir those without. Tradition is good but personal preference rules here. If you want be like Bond, shake your martini but make sure to try the "traditional" way at least once.
