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.
Polka Dot Negroni
Toby Maloney | Chicago
Ingredients
Serving: 1
- 1 ounce gin (preferably Junipero)
- 1 1/2 ounces Salers Gentiane Aperitif
- 1 ounce bianco vermouth (preferably Dolin Blanc)
- 3 dashes grapefruit bitters
Garnish: lemon twist and brandied cherry
Directions
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass.
- Add ice and stir until chilled.
- Strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass.
- Express a lemon twist over top, discard and garnish with a brandied cherry.