At inGamba, wine rules the day. But sometimes after a hot ride or a long day on the bike, a perfectly mixed and chilled cocktail is the ideal aperitivo. For summer rides, the negroni is one of our all-time favorite Italian cocktails to sip in the sunshine.
Audrey Hepburn drank them. Stanley Tucci swears by them. Anthony Bourdain called it the ‘perfect drink.’ The negroni is widely considered the ultimate European vacation cocktail, offering the perfect blend of sweetness with the right amount of palate-cleansing bitterness, making it ideal for a post-ride drink.
A classic negroni is simple and strong: roughly equal parts gin, campari, and red vermouth, mixed and served over ice with an orange peel garnish. Different bartenders will have different “perfect” ratios, but it ultimately depends on your flavor palate. If you prefer a sweeter drink, the 1:1:1 ratio works well. For more of a balanced flavor profile, simply lower the campari and vermouth slightly and add a bit more gin.
The ingredients matter: A decent gin like a Beefeater works well, but the vermouth choice can make or break a negroni. According to Bon Appetit, Carpano Antica Formula is ideal thanks to its vanilla notes and dry finish, but Punt e Mes or Cocchi Storico are also good choices. And remember, vermouth is a sweet wine, and like any other wine, it has a shorter shelf life once opened. Use within a month of opening and store it in a refrigerator, ideally with a vacuum-sealed cork.
If you’re making a cocktail for a party, the negroni is a classy, simple option since it can easily be mixed in bulk ahead of time, but it’s also an easy drink to quickly make at home without worrying about a large list of perishable ingredients that you need to have on hand. There’s no muddling, blending or extensive prepwork required.
It’s simple, but served in a short cut glass decanter with square or round ice, it’s colorful and feels like it’s marking a special occasion. As the ‘spritz’ versions become more popular—with Prosecco or sparkling water—it’s also becoming on-trend to serve a negroni in a wine glass. Even a classic negroni can be served in a wine glass that’s filled with ice, especially in a summer party setting.
For a different spin on a classic negroni, you can substitute gin for Prosecco (making it a “negroni sbagliato”)—keeping the sparkling wine choice as Italian as the cocktail—for more of a sparkle and a slightly lower alcohol content. On a hot day, you could also simply top off a classic negroni with sparkling water to make it more of a light, refreshing drink.
Negronis are also ideal because the flavor profiles of the three liquors can easily be remade into non-alcoholic versions. Unfortunately, there are no easy juice-based or herbal substitutes, you’ll need to buy non-alcoholic versions of each of the three liquors, but compared to other non-alcoholic liquors, these three actually can be made well. It won’t taste like a perfect negroni, but it will hit the spot after a hot ride.
