DUKAI
Dukai’s Liquor Library

Negroni

Equal thirds, and no apology

Gin, Campari and sweet vermouth in equal measure. The most famous bitter drink in the world, and the easiest one to make badly.

  • Classic
  • Gin
  • Vermouth
  • Built
  • Short
  • Stirred
  • Bitter
  • Herbal

Aperitivo Sunset

Rocks · Cubed

D

Ingredients

Makes
One drink
  • Gin30 ml
  • Bitter Campari30 ml
  • Sweet red vermouth30 ml

Garnish

  • Orange, cut thick · perched0.5 slice

Method

  1. 01

    Fill a rocks glass with ice and let it sit while you measure.

  2. 02

    Pour the gin, Campari and vermouth straight into the glass.

    Equal thirds. The drink stops working the moment one of them is not.

  3. 03

    Stir gently until the outside of the glass is cold.

    Stirred, not shaken. Shaking clouds the Campari and thins the drink.

  4. 04

    To finish

    Add the half orange slice to the drink.

House notes

Equal thirds is the specification, not a suggestion, and the drink is unbalanced the moment one third stops being a third. Stir it in the glass over good ice rather than shaking: shaking aerates the Campari and turns it cloudy and thin.

A chilled rocks glass, filled with ice, half an orange slice in the drink.

Perfectly paired

  • Salted almonds and good olives · What it is actually drunk with.
  • Aged hard cheese

Where it comes from

Count Camillo Negroni · Florence, IT · circa 1919 · Commonly attributed

Cocktail literature consistently attributes the drink to Count Camillo Negroni in Florence around 1919, asking for his Americano to be made with gin in place of the soda. The story is repeated widely and rests on family recollection rather than a contemporary printed source, and the cafe usually named in it is recorded here in words rather than as a venue.

Please enjoy responsibly.