Well, this will be the inaugural post of the blog. This will focus on all the things I am passionate about - BBQ, liquor & cocktails, shaving excellence, woodworking projects, furniture & design, DIY, cooking, and, in general, taking your life into your own hands.
I add to the noise of millions of blogs with no agenda other than to document some of my adventures. If you're reading this - no doubt you know me, and are in someway seeking my indulgences. Without further disclaimers - number one, 123 go: the Negroni.
Standard Negroni
Equal parts of each (I tend to like large cocktails so I went with 1 oz):
Campari
Gin
Sweet Vermouth
It is traditionally served on the rocks, though since this is my blog, I believe it should be served up, and I prefer it in a coupe as opposed to a rocks glass. If you shake this cocktail, I'll have your head. There are only only three reasons to ever shake a cocktail: juice, egg whites, or cream. If you shake my martini, manhattan, or negroni - you're just wrong.
Background:
Tonight the idea of the Negroni. This one is the first drink that I hated/tried Campari in. I remember five or six years ago, I was trying to educate myself on cocktails, and I made myself a Negroni. I powered through it, but if I'm honest, I couldn't stand it. I hadn't yet found myself intoxicated with the intentional flavor 'bitter' yet.
Here's what happened - I made myself drink the whole thing. It was not enjoyable. Several months later, I was at a restaurant and saw one on the menu and decided to order it. When it arrived, I tried and it lo - the heavens shone forth and I heard angels.
Bitter is a flavor that (as will become evident in this blog) I have come to embrace. To me this experience is the perfect example of neuroplasticity that we all need. Often our brains experience something completely foreign and we hate it - there is a visceral reaction. Stravinsky's Rite of Spring caused riots in Paris the first time it debuted, and yet a year later it was received with thunderous applause. We should push ourselves.
But stepping off my soapbox and into the drink: The Negroni is a classic cocktail, alongside the Manhattan and the Martini. For beginners, follow the recipe so you know what it should taste like before you start making alterations.
A quick overview of each ingredient:
Campari: One of the classic Italian liqueurs, Campari is extremely complex and bitter, while still being fairly sweet. At 24% it's super boozy, but not light either - it can sneak up on you. It is arguably in the amaro family, but more in the aperitif family as it's traditionally used before a meal and not after it - go argue amongst yourselves about it. It has defined an entire group of liqueurs: Aperol (sweeter and orangey & 11% alcohol), Luxardo's Aperitivo (hints of grapefruit and in between Aperol & Campari in terms of sweetness), and several others - Gran Classico, Cappelletti Americano, Aveze Ameres Sauvage, etc. Each one has its characteristics, and I encourage you to try them. I'm sure we'll be getting into each one later. Tonight, I went with the standard Campari.
Gin: I'll breeze over this one because it deserves at least three posts on its own, but suffice it to say there are a few types of gin: classic London dry (very juniper forward) and modern style gins. Both have their advantages in a Negroni. I tend to prefer Broker's London Dry - which is my favorite cocktail gin. Tonight however, I used a local Santa Cruz gin - Venus.
Vermouth: This ingredient is one of the most maligned & misunderstood ingredients in booze. Ignore any of the brands you probably know (Martini & Rossi and Gallo) and go with any of these: Carpano Antica, Punt e Mes, Vya, Dolin, Cocchi and maybe Noilly Prat if you have to. The other massively important thing about vermouth is that people are unaware of what it is - it's fortified wine. And like wine, vermouth goes BAD if left out. That means the bottle of vermouth that's been in your bar for 5 years - it's time to throw it out. In general you have two options - go for the fridge once the bottle is open - that'll give you a few weeks in my experience, or go buy wine preserver argon gas and spray it in the bottle. The gas is heavier than air, thus pushing the air out of the bottle and keeping it from oxidizing. My strategy is to normally buy the smallest bottle of vermouth I can (375ml) and plan that the next few weeks of cocktails will involve vermouth to use it up. If I sense it's been in there too long, I'll reach for the gas.
As the recipe states, mix the ingredients in a shaker with some ice, and STIR (DO NOT SHAKE). Serve in whatever glass you like, you have my preferences above, but I don't claim those to be that important or a deal breaker.
The best part is exploring substitutes. Do an experiment with several variations of gin, or different vermouths. Hell, even Campari can be exchanged for one of its cousins. You can name the drink whatever you want since that's how cocktail's work I guess, but to me they're all just Negroni variations. My current favorite is with Gran Classico instead of Campari, Broker's Gin, and either Carpano Antica or Vya sweet vermouth. You could even be adventurous and try the classic cousin of the Negroni, the Boulevardier, which places bourbon instead of gin.
The important thing is that as a man (or woman) you should try this drink. It will expand your horizons even if you don't love it the first time. Campari is an addiction as flavors go, and we in the western world aren't that familiar with bitter as a positive taste. Whatever the result, I'm curious as always to hear if you completely disagree with me/think i'm full of it, whatever. I hope you enjoy the cocktail and learned something. Enjoy the Negroni!