It’s Negroni Week - and we’re shaking things up. Following our deep dive into the cocktail’s hotly debated origins, industry consultant Julian de Nechaud de Feral returns with a line-up of Negroni twists he’s crafted for bars and restaurants over the past 15 years. Expect bold reworks, clever colour flips and new takes on the bitter-sweet classic.
Missed the first blog in this series? Catch up on the disputed regional roots of the Negroni here.
As one can imagine, as a drinks consultant and charged with creating cocktails, the past 15 years or so have been rife with requests to include at least one Negroni twist on most menus.
Vesca Negroni
I’ve long been fascinated by the associative effects of colour and flavour, so when Luxardo released their ‘Bitter Bianco liqueur’ in late 2016 – effectively a delicious Campari substitute that happens to be crystal clear – it opened up my world in terms of being able to create Negronis that weren’t always red. Previously the late, great Wayne Collins had created the ‘White Negroni’ in 2001using Lillet blanc and Suze in place of Rosso vermouth and Campari - and as delicious as it is and a modern classic in its own right, I could never help thinking how it was more of a bright yellow rather than white…
In 2017 I started to work on a Negroni twist with the idea of using gin, Dolin blanc vermouth and the Bitter Bianco for a genuinely clear Negroni, whilst locking in the recognisable colour into a block of ice that dissolves over time. This was for the beautiful Fitz’s bar on Russel Square in London, and by 2018 the talented Sean Fennelly had come on board as bar manager, and continued to tweak the drink (and its ice) right up until the day of opening, when sure enough it became the most talked about cocktail on the menu.
Equal measures of Ford’s Gin, Luxardo Bitter Bianco and Dolin Blanc vermouth are stirred and strained into a rocks glass.
The magic happens when the bespoke ice is added, and subtle notes of strawberry, coconut and rosehip unfurl into the drink.
For the ice:
- 10 parts of an equal blend of filtered, coconut and aloe vera water
- 1 part freshly squeezed strawberry juice
- 1 part Sacred Rosehip Cup
- 1/3 part Dolin Chamberyzette strawberry aperitif
- A tiny touch of red food colouring
Freeze and cut into blocks appropriately sized for the glass.
Garnish with a thin twist of lime.
Did you know that our Level 1 Award in Spirits also covers tips on serving spirits?
The Garden Negroni
A couple of years later I was working on the new cocktail menu for the newly refurbed bar at the prestigious Goring Hotel. We had hired the renowned gardening expert and author Jekka McVicar to include a wide variety of herbs grown in their beautiful garden we could use directly to garnish our cocktails, so I knew I wanted something that really fed off the idea of ‘bringing the garden into the bar’.
Once again as I was developing the cocktail direction and menu, a bar manager by the name of Tiago Mira was hired, who picked up where I had left off and began to add further nuance to the cocktail.
- 40ml Tarquin’s gin
- 20ml Absenteroux vermouth
- 15ml Luxardo Bitter Bianco
- 10ml Seedlip Garden
- 2.5ml Monin matcha syrup
Prebatch and infuse with bee pollen for at least 24 hours.
Build and stir briefly, strain on a clear block of ice, and garnish with a red amaranth.
Makrut Negroni
Whilst the two mentioned above have gradually been phased out or tweaked beyond recognition as the former bar managers have departed, I have happily put together one – somewhat more simple – twist on a Negroni that has just been launched across the Cây Tre restaurants and Viet Grill.
- 15ml Sông Cái Vietnamese Floral gin
- 20ml Dolin Rouge Vermouth
- 20ml Campari
- 5 dashes Ms Better’s lime leaf bitters
Stir with cubed ice in a rocks glass, garnish with two frozen lime leaves.
Cheers!
