Transcript: Negroni

Cocktails on the fly
Episode “Negroni”

Alberta Straub: Hi, I just got to say goody, goody, goody, goody. Guess where our flights going today? We're going to make my number one cocktail of all time, the Negroni. This is a superior fabulous cocktail. You know flighty says I'm not having kids that don't worry but if I did I would name them Sazarac and Negroni. Can't you see it; it is the perfect name to yell. Sazarac, get in here and make Mommy a cocktail. And then you have got Negroni for a girl, I like it.
You know what; the thing is this is a very, very simple cocktail. But it is really hard to get made properly out on the town; I do not know why it is three simple ingredients in equal parts. You have got gin, you have got Campari, and you’ve got sweet vermouth. But for some reason you just can't get it made right. My customers tell me this same thing. You go out and order it, and the proportions are all wrong.
And we all decided, we sat around the bar I guess we are a taste testing or something, and we all decided on this idea. It would be a great idea for a T-shirt. Cinzano, sweet vermouth, are you listening marketing people? The sure would read on the front, it is equal parts man, and on the back don't be afraid of vermouth. For some reason bartenders don't like to put vermouth and cocktails.
And I'm going to tell you right now that flighty loves putting vermouth in cocktails. I am going to do a show about vermouth pretty soon. So you guys got to check it out. We’re going to talk about dry vermouth, we are going to talk about sweet vermouth. But right now we are going to talk about the Negroni.
So like I said it is equal parts. Can we do it? Let's make this happen. Okay we do not put soda in it, we do not add more gin. We just put in equal parts let's see. Okay so 1 ounce of this superfine, super fabulous, distillery 209 gin. Now the reason I like to use distillery 209 gin, is because it has a strong flavor of Bergamot orange in it, and the oranges really nice in a Negroni. So you can try it, you can use your own favorite gin if you like, but I like to use 209 with my Negroni.
Okay so we have 1 ounce of June in 1 ounce of Campari, now I don't know if you know this but maybe flighty has mentioned it a couple of times before in a couple of episodes. But if flighty doesn't have Campari, she might as well just go home. I love Campari, it is great in so many different cocktails. Some people think, oh it is bitter, it is bitter. But no, it is fantastic.
It adds a nice complexity to any cocktail, and keeps it from being too sweet. Watch some of my old episodes and I will show you how to make some drinks with Campari that I know you'll love. But anyway one night, I have a little story about this, this is how much I love it.
Well the bartender that works before me on a Friday night, my boss comes in and asks me do we need anything. And he looked aghast at my boss and said Alberta is about to be here in two hours, I would get some Campari if you know it's good for you. And he was like aah, and he jammed out right out of there and got me the Campari. Because I said without Campari I just go home. I love you Campari.
Okay anyways, just a little testimonial and actually no money has been exchanged hands this is just the, it is red, it is bitter flighty likes that. So we put in 1 ounce of Campari okay? Okay there we go. And then the final ingredient is 1 ounce of sweet vermouth. I like to use Cinzano, there are a couple of other brands out there. But I think Cinzano has a nice citrusy flavor that makes a great Negroni. There we go 1 ounce each, wow.
And then I like a little splash of orange bitters. I like to use the Fee Brothers in my Negroni. There we go okay Coolio? Now let's add some ice, if you notice I have got an ice cube in here. I put it in their right away so your glasses chilling and ready to go. And then so we got some big ice cubes here. And I'm going to use the ice cracker, we are probably going to see some ice cubes flying, but it is essential to get the little pieces down.
You know Audrey Saunders, lavation goddess the Queen of the Pegu club says, the most essential ingredient of a cocktail. She says this is a quote. It is a freshly thwacked ice cube. So we are going to thwack it and we will think about Audrey. There we go. And then I'm going to put in one more little cube here. Whew, ok, try not to hit your guest.
All right, but you know what? You have got some cold ice here and that is essential. You do not want dilution. You just want a little bit of dilution, you are going to stir up this drink and make sure everything gets cold on the outside, cold on the inside. We are stirring, oh it is going to be good. They better give me some of this one. They are withholding cocktails from me, can you believe that? But I am going to get some of this Negroni. You can smell the flavors, it smells good, and it is smelling orangey.
All right, we dumped out this ice cube. Then we get our julep strainer out here, pour it in. Okay good to the last drop, let's get it all out. And then a little citrus peel, orange peel is nice. You squeeze it make sure you get the oils, twist it into your cocktail. And there we are a Negroni, a very, very yummy cocktail. That is delicious. Cheers!
Negroni:
1. It’s all about equal parts.
2. 1 ounce gin
3. 1 ounce Campari
4. 1 ounce sweet vermouth
5. add a splash of orange bitters
6. stir with fresh cracked ice
7. strain into a chilled cocktail glass
8. garnish with a orange twist
9. delicious