Polka Dot Negroni

Toby Maloney | Chicago

polka dot negroni lead

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 switches traditional sweet vermouth for Dolin Blanc, a sweet white vermouth, and instead of the bitter twang of Campari, Maloney uses a gentian apéritif wine and grapefruit bitters.

Ingredients

Serving: 1

  • 1 ounce gin (preferably Junipero)
  • 1 ounce gin (preferably Junipero)
  • 1 1/2 ounces Salers Gentiane Aperitif
  • 1 1/2 ounces Salers Gentiane Aperitif
  • 1 ounce bianco vermouth (preferably Dolin Blanc)
  • 1 ounce bianco vermouth (preferably Dolin Blanc)
  • 3 dashes grapefruit bitters
  • 3 dashes grapefruit bitters

Garnish: lemon twist and brandied cherry

Directions
  1. Add all ingredients to a mixing glass.
  2. Add ice and stir until chilled.
  3. Strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass.
  4. Express a lemon twist over top, discard and garnish with a brandied cherry.