Negronis - Sipped

Reviews of Negroni inspired cocktails from bars and restaurants around the world by a digital producer in London.

[mynegroni]

About Time: You Went to the World's First Negroni-Only Bar | About Time Magazine

Calling all Negroni lovers! This May, enjoy the world’s largest collection of Negroni cocktails at The Negroni Bar by Campari from 11th-21st May. Sounds cool? Read on to discover more.

[mynegroni]

Nordic by Nature, Aquavit, infused Campari and Cocchi Vermouth with a twig of fir. Extra woody.

Vine by Charlie Campbell

[mynegroni]

Negroni Week

Presented by Imbibe Magazine and Campari. Negroni Week launched in 2013 as a celebration of one of the world’s great cocktails and an effort to raise money for charitable causes around the world. From 2013 to 2014, Negroni Week grew from more than 100 participating bars to…

[mynegroni]

Vue to a Kill a toasty Negroni

Talented Mr Fox is the bar at One Leicester Street. It's a speak easy style hideaway just off Leicester Square that takes liquor seriously. It uses ants, bone marrow and pigs' blood to create cocktails as well as distilling its own gin. 

The bartender Ally made a Negroni with popcorn infused gin, Campari and a boutique Vermouth called Cocchi from Turin. The gin had a toasty flavour and rather than equal measures there was less Vermouth making the drink pinker than a classic. Ally served it with a large single block of ice and without any orange. The Vue to a Kill is a classy deviant of a Negroni constructed by an impressive bar. 

[mynegroni]

June 2nd to 8th is Negroni week in the US. It's even a charitable event. I'm deep in that Negroni rabbit hole.

http://negroniweek.com/

[mynegroni]

Summer Negroni by Darren Rook and Aperol

July 14th's Sunday Times Magazine had an article about London’s burgeoning artisan gin distilleries. To the side of the story was a recipe for a Summer Negroni by Darren Rook from the London Distillery Company.

I was inspired to give the recipe a go partly because I had Aperol which is made by the same company as Campari. Aperol has 11% alcohol (half that of Campari) and has orange, gentian, rhubarb, and cinchona as its key ingredients. Aperol Spritz is gaining popularity in London. Aperol combined with Prosecco, soda water and a slice of orange served with lots of ice. 

For the Summer Negroni whilst I had the Aperol but I lacked Dodd's gin, pink grapefruit, Antica Formula and the bitters. I doubt my version did the recipe justice. I also used a weaker gin only 37.5% proof and used Martini Rosso rather than Antica Formula.

I missed Campari's bitter prominence. I found the drink a little too sweet and syrupy especially in the heat of summer. Perhaps the bitters, grapefruit and added punch from Dodd's gin would have made the difference. I'm plotting a trip to the London Distillery in Battersea to try its gin.

[mynegroni]

Coworth Park

Near Ascot is country hotel called Coworth Park. The most arresting feature of the venue is an expansive wild flower meadow in front of the main house. The scale of the meadow makes an incredible impression - a vast sea of delicate flowers. 

The terrace overlooking the meadow and beyond into the Berkshire countryside and is a memorable place for a drink. The bar makes its own bitters and the knowledgeable team introduced me to a French gin called G Vine which has green grape flowers infused with the usual botanicals. My Negroni was well made with a gentle floral flush appropriate for the view.

[mynegroni]

Principe Bar - Milan

Tucked away inside the Hotel Principe di Savoia in centre of Milan is the Principe Bar. It's an opulent bar with a towering ceiling. 

The Italians are serious about before dinner drinks -  aperitivi. A team of scuttling waiters served and replenished small plates glossy oily breads, delicate bites of ricotta cheese and cured hams on coin sized toasts called crostini, crisp vegetables and bowls of crisps, roasted spiced almonds and olives.

My Negroni was made with flare; the bartender confidently pouring Bombay Sapphire into a large cut glass jug with ice then simultaneously adding Martini Rosso and Campari. The jug allowed capacity to stir the drink before straining and pouring into my with fresh glass. Great detail was given to this Negroni's citrus touches; a half slice of orange was added to the drink as well as a crafted tongue of zest which, after kissing the rim of the glass, stood to attention at the heart of the drink.

When we stayed at the hotel there were crowds of young teenagers outside waiting for a glimpse of One Direction. I somehow doubt that Harry Styles and his friends could afford themselves a leisurely aperitivo at the Principe.

[mynegroni]

Royal Court Chelsea

The Royal Court Theatre on Sloane Square Chelsea has a vibrant bar and restaurant in the basement. One of the benefits of the theatre being outside of the West End. We went to see a play called Birthday which had Stephen Mangan going through the childbirth.

The bar's cocktail list has a strong Italian influence with lots of Campari drinks. It was curious to see the barman need to check the board to make my Negroni and adding a thick wedge of lemon in lieu of a slice of orange.

[mynegroni]

Colbert - Sloane Square Chelsea

Next door to the Royal Court theatre by Sloane Square tube is a French restaurant called Colbert. It's a relatively new French bistro, sibling to the Wolsey and the Delany. A similar French restaurant called Oriel used to be at the location. 

Colbert serves a fair cassoulet that three of us ordered. We were far more impressed by the simple but stunning radishes for a starter. The restaurant opened in 2012 and hadn't been serving long when we visited. Unfortunately the service was rather slow.

[thestraightup]

#NegroniWeek: Variations - The Negroni More recipes all week, stay tuned! @Campari @Imbibe

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[mynegroni]

It's Negroni Week in America. This post has a few straying variations for bitter northern Italian inspired aperitivi.

[mynegroni]

Who is Fosco? Electric House's Library

There's a lavish cinema on Portobello Market called the Electric with a members' club above it. The cinema has massive leather seats and sofas and the rest of the club has recently been refurbished (again) after a fire. At the top of the building is the loft Library which has an open bar (layout not free drinks).

It makes me think of prohibition America - a dark room with jugs, beakers and vials of bitters all scattered around a sturdy wooden table. The barmen are dressed in immaculate three piece suits protected by aprons and they all sport pencil thin moustaches. You can straddle a stool while the drinks are mixed around you. There's even an old 33 record player and a collection of vinyl that everyone can use.

I was there with three of our digital development team and it was a good excuse to experiment with the cocktails. The obvious choice for me was the  Fosco Sour - a cross between a Negroni and a sour. Named after Fosco Scarselli a bartender working at Caffè Giacosa in Florence. Count Camillo Negroni asked for a more potent version of an Americano and Fosco replaced soda water with gin to create the first Negroni way back in 1919.

The Fosco Sour is a lighter sharper drink than a Negroni. It was vigorously shaken creating a light foam then served in a variation of a Martini glass without ice. The lemon makes it more acidic but fresher. I enjoyed the drink but missed the familiar warm aromatic flavour of a Negroni. 

[mynegroni]

Dine Mile High

Dine Mile High is a pop up event inspired by the golden age of airline travel. Our evening was a ‘flight’ to scandy’s coolest city Gothenberg. The menu is under the watch of a former Moro chef - Oliver Templeton with his three siblings completing the imaginative team that conceived and run the event.

We booked tickets last year without knowing the location and were glad to learn that it was being held in the old post office distribution centre on Westbourne Grove.

Ground staff check you in and look after in the waiting lounge before you board for the dinner. Each guest is given a passport and upon receipt of your drink from the 50s style bar you get a Campari stamp (Campari is one of the sponsors).

Luckily Negronis were one of the three cocktails on the list. My Negronis were understandably made with care although they were served in a tall glass with more ice than I prefer. It was the first time I’d seen bartenders flame the orange peel. The idea is to warm and release the orange oils. The drinks had a slightly warmer almost caramelised scent. A nice touch.

There are Dine Mile High nights throughout 2013 and they are great fun. Our menu had scallops, elk and alienesque crayfish. Our friends stayed much later than us and had an entertainingly turbulent evening apparently involving dancing, cutlery hanging of suits and arguments with bankers.

[mynegroni]

The St Pancras Hotel. It's one of my favourite buildings in London; an imposing romantic Gothic Victorian landmark designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott. It reopened in 2011 as an exciting five star hotel as part of the redevelopment of the station with the international railway station.

The Booking Office is a respectful Victorian bar heavily dosed with gin. The bartenders impressed me with their knowledge about Bath House Gins. There are punch bowls with forgotten brews that can be bought by cup or bowl.

I was lucky to visit with a confident gin champion who promptly ordered a French 75 - champagne, lemon.

Paul, another of our party was a bourbon connoisseur but he discovered he was allergic to wheat. His dedication to exploring rye whiskeys was comparable to my fixation with  negronis.

My negroni was lovingly mixed Beefeater, Campari and red Martini. It was Paul's first brush with a negroni and I heard the other day that it didn't take him long to order another.

[mynegroni]

A winding narrow road along the northwest coast of Mallorca leads to a boutique hotel called La Residencia. Built into the cliff above an arty village called Deia the property was once part of Richard Branson's collection of hotel and has hosted many of his celebrity friends with photographic proof of Gwyneth Paltrow in reception. Don't let that put you off.

Another one of my loves is catered for with vegetables grown on site and used in the kitchen of the Michelin starred restaurant El Olivo. There is also an artist and sculpture in residence who appear to scatter their work freely around the grounds.

We watched the sun slowly drop against the opposite cliff.

I appreciated having a negroni outside the sun on my face and condensation on the glass. This one was obviously shaken - an interesting decision considering the rate of melt from the heat. Scared of the perilous drive and worrying I may follow Grace Kelly's lead I asked for a half version to avoid temptation. Our server and barman obviously had more faith in me.

[mynegroni]

Simply Fosh is a contemporary restaurant in Mallorca's capital Palma. Before we went on holiday our neighbour Noel Dixon claimed that he had his best meal ever there. 

The restaurant's in a refectory of a 17th-century former convent. The meal was fun with foams and creams and rich intense flavours. The most memorable being a light chilled almond green garlic cream soup.

I succeeded in ordering a half glass. It was sophisticatedly mixed but hard to take seriously with an orange slice hanging off the rim. Driving, parking and strolling through the streets of Palma reminded me of city life after our seclusion at the  Xemarri farmhouse in southern Mallorca. Nevertheless, a well earned and appreciated negroni. 

[mynegroni]

Little House Mayfair is a private members’ club which is part of Soho House. We went there for dinner with some English friends from Los Angeles as part of its soft opening (it wasn't open to all members). I got a great Negroni in a cut glass with a good slice of orange. The most intriguing thing was a berg of an ice cube; a single chunk about 25 cubic centimeters. The cube melted very slowly subtly diluting the cocktail and with no icey comrades to rub against the drink sloshing around in the glass. The tip of my nose got a chilly sweet coating though as I sipped the last of the drink.  The meal started off disastrously; our order stalled with our server and dishes randomly arrived at our table. The manager dealt with our grumblings brilliantly and the server was sincerely apologetic.