A tale of 2 Negronis - How to make the Negroni cocktail | BAR TALK & COCKTAILS

Love can be bitter. I know because I'm, well, I'm roughly 22,082 days old. Love can be sweet and seductive, intensely captivating while being simple or complex. It can be classic, strong, and sensual, filled with delicious pleasure. It could be a Negroni, yeah. The Negroni story goes all the way back to the early 20th century, and it is still debated today with two people, one Italian, one Corsican, both Counts, and both Negronis claiming to have created the drink. First up is Count Camillo Luigi Manfredo Maria Negroni, born in Florence, Italy in 1868. His story seems to be one of the most prevalent, with a very strong claim to the recipe. He used to hang out at the Caffè Cassone, where today Caffè Giocassa can be found in Florence. Now, it appears that Count Camillo Negroni was a heavy drinker. According to his trusted bartender, Fosco Scarcelli, the Count would often consume as many as 40 cocktails in a day. You know, that's really hard to believe. I mean, that's all he'd be doing, sitting around drinking. But you know, maybe that's not too far-fetched, because there's a letter that was found, written by a friend, in 1920, jokingly reminding the Count not to drink more than 20 Negronis in a day. As the story goes, in 1919, the Count asked Fosco Scarcelli, the barkeep, to strengthen one of his favorite cocktails, the Americano, by adding gin instead of the typical soda water. Fosco also swapped out the usual lemon for an orange garnish. Well, the Count took one sip, and it was like being struck by lightning. Jesus appeared in the bottom of his glass. The drink was a winner, and soon other patrons of the bar started to ask for one of Count Negroni's drinks. Before long, everyone was just coming into the bar and simply ordering up a Negroni. Now, the Count was an interesting fellow, and something of a legend of the American West. Sometime in the late 1880s, he made his way from Italy to the United States. While riding the range and busting broncos, he ended up becoming a rodeo cowboy for nearly 15 years. Once quoted to a journalist from the Spokane Chronicle, Camillo Negroni said, "'I roughed it plenty, rode herd up through the Yellowstone country and wound up in the province of Alberta, Canada, horning in at the Oxley Ranch, learned enough about stud, keno, and faro to get broke and stay that way." That's because he was a riverboat gambler too, and supposedly, he also was a teacher of fencing. Yeah, he had a reputation as a man that lived by his wits, wheelin' and dealin'. He was a tough man by all accounts, and when American newsman Bob Davis bumped into him during a trip to Italy in 1928, he was sporting full cowboy regalia. "'You speak English?' asked Davis. "'You're tootin', I do, hombre,' replied the count." That brings us to the other count, Count Pascal Olivier de Negroni. He supposedly invented the Negroni cocktail in Senegal, West Africa, much earlier, in around 1860. Count Pascal Olivier de Negroni was a brigadier general and a French Corsican who fought in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Yeah. Born in 1820... Wait. It's the wrong hat. This isn't quite the right hat either, but you get my point, okay? Born in 1829, he passed away in 1913, six years before Count Camillo allegedly created the drink. Now, Count Pascal's descendants, well, you know, they have all invested a large amount of time and effort into supporting their family claim, with letters to back up the real creator of this classic cocktail. Moreover, they're convinced that there is no Count Camillo Negroni in their genealogy, which dates back to the 11th century. This is all backed up by extensive research and a huge genealogy document. There are also some historians that believe Count Camillo wasn't Count Camillo at all, but a family relative, Arnold Henry Savage Landor, a Florentine painter, explorer, writer, anthropologist, and cat lover. A legend he was, a Count of Negroni he was not. The family further believes that the Count Camillo Negroni story is a ruse and simply created as a marketing ploy. They credit the creation of the Negroni cocktail to Count Pascal Olivier de Negroni, purportedly while posted as base commander to the French colony of St. Louis in Senegal. This is where he created the drink as a present for his new bride, Blanche Gerard Fontillard in May of 1857 to aid her digestion, lifting a Negroni to toast to her health on their wedding day. But here's the problem with that. It couldn't have been on their wedding day as the all-important ingredient Campari wasn't invented until 1860. Anyway, the Negroni family are defending their claim on social media forums, and the Negroni debate has developed into a heated defense on the Negroni family honor. And just to add confusion, that's what we need, more confusion. There's a 1980 article from a Corsican newspaper, the Corse Matin, that reads, and this is a translation, a Corsican cocktail? Was the Negroni a classic cocktail created by a Kepcorsan? It seems so. This would be the General Pascal Negroni, native Ragliano, who had the idea of this divine mixture, 1 3rd gin, 1 3rd vermouth, 1 3rd Campari. This happened in Paris at the Military Officers' Club of St. Augustine on the eve of the Great War. Your health before the grape shot. I guess the grape shot being ammunition for cannons with small iron or lead balls that scatter after firing. So this one-paragraph article said that this happened in Paris on the eve of the Great War, but the General would have had to invent the drink much earlier than that. You know, it is possible that he did introduce his cocktail to his fellow officers at their elite club in Paris, but not on the eve of the Great War because the First World War was 1914 and Pascal died in 1913. So where does that leave us? Completely confused. Whatever the truth or accuracy of this story here, it makes for a good yarn, doesn't it? But the one thing we do know is that the Negroni is simple and balanced and considered to be one of the most famous cocktails in the world. It inspired the palates of Tennessee Williams, James Bond when he wasn't in the mood for a martini, and Orson Welles. You know, it was actually Orson Welles, while living in Rome in 1947, that wrote of the Negroni saying, the bitters are excellent for your liver. The gin is bad for you. They balance each other. So why don't we make a Negroni? Ha ha, yeah. You know, a lot of times when you make a Negroni, you just build it over ice in a rock glass, plain and simple, just like that. Or sometimes too, you'll find it straight up. But what I like to do, I like to stir it up. You know, it's gotta be one of the easiest cocktails you'll ever make, because it's all equal portions. I've got one ounce of gin. And you know, you can use practically any gin you choose. I mean, I was debating, do I use Tanqueray or do I use Beefeater 24? I was half swaying towards Beefeater 24 because there's a real grapefruit note going on in that. But I chose Tanqueray because it's bold. Yeah, one ounce. One ounce of Campari. Campari is a spirit obtained from the infusion of bitter herbs, aromatic plants, and fruit in alcohol and water. At 25% alcohol by volume, or 50 proof, Campari has a vibrant red color, an intense aroma with a touch of citrus, and a distinctive bitter taste. And slightly medicinal, if you ask me. It's a secret recipe with as many as 60 to 80 ingredients and a perfect base for some of the most famous cocktails in the world. And one ounce of sweet vermouth. And you gotta experiment with different gins, different vermouths, because it's gonna completely change your drink. Campari is the mainstay, right? That doesn't change. But these guys, you can swap out for a completely different tasting experience. So one ounce of sweet vermouth. And fill our stirring glass up with some ice. Lots of ice. Get her nice and chilled. And stir it up. Now you wanna give it about 20 seconds, at least. Get her nice and chilled, yeah. It's getting nice and icy cold, let me tell ya. I think we're in. And you know, I think this drink deserves some clear ice. That I made just for this drink. Oh man, look at that beauty. Clear ice. This drink deserves it, for sure. And all we do is drain it out. Oh yeah, look at that color. How marvelous is that beauty? And the final touch is either a twist or a wedge of orange. Now the thing here is, to squeeze or not to squeeze? That is the question. I like a good squeeze. Yeah, look at that. A thing of beauty, I'll tell you. Let's give it a go. Like all great cocktails, the Negroni has inspired plenty of variations. One of the most popular ones is the Boulevardier cocktail, where the gin is replaced with bourbon. There's the Spagliato that also replaces the gin with Prosecco or sparkling wine. The Amber Negroni with Cognac. Old Pal made with rye whiskey and dry vermouth. The list goes on. Wow, that is delightful. So what we've got going on here, as many have described it, a holy trinity of bittersweet, almost syrupy Campari, the strong, clean gin, cutting through nicely, yeah, and the earthy spiciness of vermouth, grounding everything together. It's strong, but worth the adventure. Salute! I roughed it plenty, rode herd up through a yellowstone country, and wound up in the province of Alberta, Canada, honing in at the Oxley Ranch. Learned enough about stud, keno, and faro, faro. F**k it. Let's go back. Partial funding for Bar Talk and Cocktails is provided by Patreon. For just a few dollars a month, you get access to lots of extra stuff. Behind the scenes videos, podcasts, newsletters, some of my own personally created cocktails, and much, much more. Become one of my patrons today, and help keep us going. Thanks in advance. Cheers. It's still the wrong hat! Much better. Oh yeah. I like hats! Shut up! Make a Negroni, because it is wonderfully bitter, it's wonderfully sweet, delightful. Make it with clear ice cubes, yeah. In the meantime, hit the subscribe button, check the other videos out, and the account.