Be Better Guys

I’m a gin drinker.  But not every day is a Martini day (I can’t believe I just wrote that but it is true that some days you come home from work and a heavy shot of chilled gin – while thrilling! – is just too heavy to take on). Some days you want to cut the gin with something a little more sweet and light esepecially when the low is 85 degrees.

Enter the Negroni – Italy’s summer drink.  Even with equal parts Campari, gin, and sweet vermouth, the bitterness of a Negroni firmly establishes the drink as a Campari-based cocktail. No one is undecided about a Negroni. This Italian big brother to the Americano (which is essentially a Negroni over soda) and distant cousin to the Martini is so bitter that its haters swear it should be stored in the back of the medicine chest. Those of us who love it do so because of its herbal flavors and rich orange-burgundy color.  Campari’s an acquired taste and if you hate it you’ll never love this drink.  But if your palate warms to it this is better than the boring Campari and soda you see on the Italian Riviera.  Plus this packs a stronger wallop!

But I suggest if you’re going to wade into the Negroni waters you order one at a good bar that knows how to make classic cocktails.  Here’s why – because the herbal flavor of Campari is not for most folks and a bottle of Campari will set you back $25 it’s better to experiment on a $10 cocktail at a bar than be saddled with a $25 bottle of liquer you want to pour down the drain.  Campari has a bitter flavor so be sure it’s a purchase you want to make by test-driving the cocktail while out and sitting poolside or on a downtown sidewalk observing National Sundress Month.  Bellissimo!