After writing about Milan, drinking Negroni cocktails and entertaining my friends with my cocktail making antics, I decided to publish this recipe to keep you going.

A Negroni is a particular type of cocktail. It is an excellent start to the evening, served as an aperitif before dinner; preferably with some finger food to hand. Its mixture of ingredients eases the aches of the day away and allows you to unwind in the company of good friends and family.

It also serves as a useful cocktail to provide you with a second wind if you’ve just spent the day drinking (as you do on New Year’s day for instance): a rousing Negroni will raise those flagging spirits if you plan to party on through the night.

Negroni

The trick that some people need to master is to perfectly measure the ingredients to balance the tastes involved:

1. Fill a tumbler with ice. Don’t skimp on the amount of ice as this will keep your drink cool while you nibble and chat. You should not wolf down a Negroni but sip it as you socialise, after all.
2. Pour 3 cl of Campari over the ice. Follow this with 3 cl of Gin and 3 cl of sweet vermouth.
3. If this may be too strong for you, add soda water to dilute to your taste.
4. Garnish with a slice of orange.

Stir and serve

I find that potent gins like Beefeater or Gordon’s tend to make this drink too strong. Aromatic gins like Bombay Sapphire or Hendrick’s are much more appropriate for this drink. The best Negroni I ever drank was at Hortense in Brussels where the barman used Monkey 47 gin.

(Word of warning to anyone who is a fan of Bombay Sapphire East – the lemongrass in that gin is off-putting for this drink)

Normally people use Martini Rosso as a sweet vermouth which is quite appropriate but I’ve dabbled with Martini Rosato which is lighter, just as sweet and complements the drink perfectly.

So now, sit back, clink the ice in your glass, sip the warmth into your belly and let the  day slip away …

Update: I’ve tried this with Finsbury Gin and note that it does not interfere with the taste of Campari or vermouth. I prefer it with Martini Rosato though – it kind of works better that way.

What’s your favourite cocktail? Comment below with your favourite tipple!