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Summer Cocktail idea for you and your friends
La Dolce Vita with a Negroni cocktail recipe: gin, Campari, Vermouth and a twist of Orange peel.
Even if you’ve only been following me for a little while, you know that I love anything Italian and I’ve been very fortunate to travel to many different parts of that magical country. Although, I must admit that I favor Tuscany for its food and wine. During my visits, I have met some wonderful friends and made the most incredible food memories.
Once, I spent several days with some friends in the tiny town of Savigno, Italy where I learned how to make pasta. To be a true pasta master takes enormous dedication and ‘time on task’ or practice – practice – practice. There is no shortcut for experience. Maybe it should come as no surprise that I’ve also collected some great recipes and cooking ideas during my travels there. I love all kinds of Italian food, and I absolutely crave Italian wine, cheeses, sauces, and lately – an incredible cocktail drink called a “Negroni.”
I have had several experiences with this mixed drink – all of them in summer – all of them fabulous. The drink itself goes all the way back to the mid-1800s – reportedly a favorite of merchants and naval officers in unusual little places like the island of Menorca, once a significant naval base of the British Royal Navy.
My first memory of it was at a restaurant in Little Italy (New York City) several years ago when a friend asked me what I’d like to drink, and I said, “Surprise me.” I can’t recall the occasion, but I’ve never forgotten the drink. A year or so later, I was at the rooftop restaurant of The Hotel Danieli overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice at sunset and asked for it by the only name I knew. “Negroni, per favore,” I asked. The bartender knew exactly what I wanted!
Most recently, I ran into the recipe on Esquire.com. The Esquire writer added some cute suggestions about the “right way” to drink a Negroni: lounging in a “sun-dappled veranda” while wearing a linen suit (love that scene). I was thinking of one particular summer afternoon on the Piazza Navona in Rome. But, that’s another story for another time…
La dolce vita, indeed!
Making this gem is easier (and by far quicker) to make than it takes to explain (see my video):
1 oz dry gin (I recommend Bombay Sapphire)
1 oz Campari (there’s only one)
1 oz Vermouth (Cinzano Rosso, of course)
It’s so easy when all the ingredients are the identical amount of liquid – you only have to remember 1 oz! Pour all into a cocktail shaker with cracked ice and shake well, like a pro. Use a cocktail strainer (please – you don’t want to pour any of the crushed ice into your drink) as you pour the mix into a stylish high-ball glass with ice (the larger the cube the better). The Italian bartender in Florence used an ice cube that almost filled the glass! Garnish with a twist of orange peel.
Now all that’s left do to is for you to don your white linen suit, lounge in the sun, and sip. Saluti!!
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