Negroni and Americano

Lots of people go for years seeing the bottle of bright red Campari on a shelf behind the bar, or at the liquor store, and wonder what in the world you do with it. Some of those people discover Campari by way of one of the most classic of cocktails, the Negroni. It's a 1:1:1 cocktail, like the Sidecar, but its flavor profile is completely in the opposite direction of that other classic.

1 oz gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth

Stir in a mixing glass and strain into a short glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a wide swath of orange peel, which you should squeeze over the glass before dropping it in.

You may notice that the drink in my photo --it's the one on the left -- is missing the orange peel. Sometimes you realize you really want a Negroni, even if you don't have any oranges in the house. Brad Thomas Parsons, in his excellent book Bitters suggests a few dashes of orange bitters to bring out the flavor, so I thought that might be good, in the absence of the peel. The peel is fantastic, don't get me wrong. But it's a shame to forgo a Negroni for want of orange peel.

I used Aviation gin, because it's an American-style gin, which means it's slightly less juniper-heavy, so I thought it would play nice with the bitters. I also used Punt e Mes, which is probably one of my favorite things in the whole Booziverse. "Punt e Mes" means "point and a half", which refers to the fact that Italians traditionally like to put bitters in their vermouth, and Punt e Mes is Italian (sweet) vermouth with bitters already added. It's delightful with soda and a slice of lemon. You may certainly use whatever sweet vermouth you like. Punt e Mes with Campari might be just too much bitters for some, but we love bitters in this house.

On the right side of the photo above, you'll see the Negroni's cousin, the Americano.

1.25 oz Campari
1.25 oz sweet vermouth
soda water
twist of lemon peel

It's like a Negroni with soda and no gin. You might wonder in what circumstance you would want "no gin", but sometimes that's what hits the spot.

A note about the soda water: I have seen the Americano made as a highball, with more soda. I read in How to Drink by Victoria Moore that less soda is better with bitters than more soda. She claims that you might think you can soften the bitter taste of Campari by diluting it with more soda, but what actually happens is you dilute the sweetness, which only sharpens the bitterness and throws off the balance. I have tested this myself, and it's true. So when I make an Americano, I stick with the short glass, and add just a bit of soda.