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The Negroni is a classic Italian cocktail with three ingredients: gin, vermouth, and Campari! It makes a memorable bittersweet drink.
Looking for an iconic classic cocktail? Enter: the Negroni! It’s equal parts refreshing, bitter, and complex; a drink that you’ll want to sit with and savor.
The bright red of Campari makes for a stunning jewel-toned drink! This three-ingredient cocktail is easy to make and memorize, because it uses 1 ounce of each of its three components. Here’s how to make a Negroni!
Ingredients You’ll Need
A Negroni is an Italian cocktail that was originally intended as an apéritif: a drink for before a meal. It was invented in the 1920’s by Count Negroni in Florence, Italy, or so the story goes.
Count Negroni ordered an Americano, an 1860’s cocktail with Campari, sweet vermouth, and soda water, but wanted it with a little more kick. He asked for it with gin, and the Negroni was born!
The Negroni is a classic cocktail that’s on the list of the International Bartender Association’s IBA official cocktails. This means that there’s an “official” definition for Negroni ingredients, which is equal parts:
- Gin,
- Sweet vermouth, and
- Campari.
How to Make a Negroni: Basic Steps
The Negroni is so easy to make and memorize; use just 1 ounce of each ingredient. Simply stir them together in a cocktail mixing glass, the base of a cocktail shaker, or any glass you have on hand. Here are the basic steps to make it (or go to the recipe below):
- Mix. Add the ingredients to a mixing glass with 1 handful of ice and stir for 30 seconds. This chills the cocktail and dilutes it less than shaking in a cocktail shaker would.
- Strain. Strain into a lowball or Old Fashioned glass filled with ice (use clear ice for the best look!).
- Garnish and serve. Use a knife to remove a 1-inch-wide strip of the orange peel. Squeeze the orange peel into the drink to release the oils. Gently run the peel around the edge of the glass, then place it in the glass and serve.
Variations
The Negroni is so iconic that it’s spawned many variations over the years. The Boulevardier is a spin-off of the Negroni, using bourbon whiskey instead of gin. Even better, make it a Negroni Sbagliato, a bubbly version with sparkling wine! You can also swap out the Campari for Aperol. Here are a few well-known variations on the Negroni:
- Boulevardier: Swap out 1 ounce of gin with 1 ½ ounces of bourbon whiskey.
- Old Pal: Swap out the gin for whiskey and swap the sweet vermouth for dry.
- Americano: Swap out the gin for soda water for a bubbly highball cocktail.
- Aperol Negroni: Replace Campari with Aperol for a sweeter, citrusy spin.
- Mezcal Negroni: Swap out the gin for mezcal.
- Negroni Sbagliato: Swap the gin for Prosecco.
- White Negroni: For a lighter, floral take, use Lillet Blanc instead of vermouth and Suze instead of Campari.
Campari Makes the Drink!
Campari is what makes a Negroni a Negroni. It’s an Italian bitter with a bright red jewel-toned color. It’s also used in classic cocktails like the Americano, and is easy to find at most liquor stores.
Campari tastes bitter, fruity, and spicy all at once. It’s infused with different herbs and fruits, part of a secret recipe. Fun fact: Campari was originally colored so brightly red because it was made with a dye derived from crushed insects! That’s no longer in the modern recipe, so it shouldn’t deter you from grabbing a bottle.
What else can you make with Campari? Try all of these great Campari Cocktails! Some favorites: the Jungle Bird, a tropical rum drink, or the Garibaldi, an Italian cocktail with Campari and orange.
All About Vermouth
A Negroni isn’t the same without vermouth! Vermouth is a fortified wine, meaning liquor has been added to the wine. There are two main types of vermouth: sweet (usually red) and dry (usually white). Sweet vermouth is subtly sweet and spicy, with a hit of bitterness on the back end.
- Sweet vermouth is used in many classic cocktails, most famously the Manhattan and the Negroni. It’s also in this Hanky Panky, another 1920s-style gin cocktail. You can also drink it straight up as an aperitif.
- Dry white vermouth is used in martinis, like the Classic Martini and the Dirty Martini.
Whatever vermouth you have on hand, make sure to store it in the refrigerator; it will stay good for up to 3 months. Here are all my favorite Vermouth Cocktails for using up a bottle!
Use Good Quality Gin
Simple drinks are all about quality. The better the gin, the better the drink. The easiest way to tell if a gin is high quality? Don’t buy the cheapest gin you can find. Try to invest in a mid-price range gin; the drink will only taste as good as the gin you invest in.
One note: with the Negroni, because the Campari and vermouth are so strong, the gin can be overshadowed. You’ll want to use your very best gin for gin cocktails that are gin-forward, like the Gin and Tonic or Gin Fizz. For the Negroni, a mid-range gin works just fine.
When to Serve It
The Negroni cocktail is a sophisticated, complex classic that’s also refreshing and summery. It’s perfect for sipping as a:
- Happy hour drink
- Dinner party drink
- Summer drink
- Before dinner drink
- Late night drinks drink
- Guys or girls night drink
- Cocktail hour drink
Negroni
The Negroni is a classic Italian cocktail with three ingredients: gin, vermouth, and Campari! It makes a memorable bittersweet drink.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Stirred
- Cuisine: Cocktails
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) gin*
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) sweet or semi-sweet red vermouth
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) Campari
- Ice, for serving (try clear ice!)
- For the garnish: Orange peel
Instructions
- Combine the gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari in a cocktail mixing glass (or any other type of glass). Fill the mixing glass with 1 handful ice and stir continuously for 30 seconds.
- Add ice to a lowball glass, and strain the drink into the glass (or you can use a cocktail glass without ice).
- Use a knife to remove a 1″ wide strip of the orange peel. Squeeze the orange peel into the drink to release the oils. Gently run the peel around the edge of the glass, then place it in the glass and serve.
Notes
*I like the Boulevardier even better, a classic cocktail that’s a spin on the Negroni. Substitute 1 ½ ounces (3 tablespoons) bourbon whiskey for the gin. It has a rounder flavor, balanced by the bourbon.
