Like all good stories should, the one about the Negroni’s origin involves rakish Italian nobility. Most accounts credit the recipe to one Count Negroni, a swashbuckling proto-boho who reportedly spent time as a rodeo cowboy in the United States. Compounding his wild ways, legend has it that back at a bar in Italy in 1919, he asked for a something like an Americano, but boozier. Swap gin for soda water, and presto, the Negroni. This version—pre-diluted and bottled for easy patio or party service—turns the original on its head substituting floral Lillet for sweet vermouth and gentian-based Suze for the bitter twinge of Campari.
Note: To bottle cocktails you’ll need a funnel, 187ml glass bottles, a crown capper and caps.