35ml gin
35ml Campari
35ml Rinquinquin (or sweet vermouth)
Ice
Mixing glass
Stemless gin balloon glass
Dehydrated orange slice
I’m sharing a favourite to start the weekend along with a bit of cocktail provenance.
It’s said that in 1919 while visiting the Caffè Casoni in Florence, Pascal Olivier Count de Negroni asked for his fave cocktail, the Americano (Campari and sweet vermouth topped up with soda water) to be strengthened by subbing the soda for gin (what a guy!) and the Negroni was born.
The Negroni family went on to distill and bottle the ready mixed drink and probably made a fortune. Good for them. Orson Welles was apparently a fan and said it was a balanced drink as the bitters are good for your liver and the gin is not. Wise words.
My version is pinched from The Ivy in Cambridge. It subs RinQuinQuin aperitif for the sweet vermouth and is made by stirring 35ml each of gin, Campari and RinQuinQuin with ice for a couple of minutes before straining into a lowball glass. That couple of minutes stirring is so important. It helps the flavours mix and dilutes some of the harsh alcohol taste. Garnish with an orange slice.
Drink it on the sofa thinking of some of your favourite things.
The Sweet and The Spice 