[The King of Spain asked to take a G:TB guestie and who am I to say no? I assured him that this would be well received as the bar here is low.]
Longtime lurker, first time blogger…
Everyone should be celebrating Negroni Week. If you haven’t tried a negroni, it’s an excellent way to invest in yourself. Slightly sweet, somewhat bitter and plenty boozy, this cocktail’s profile is good advice on how to live your life.
I had my first Negroni at a Babbo in Greenwich Village about 22 years ago, on the first fancy date with my wife Julie. They served it up in a martini glass, garnished with a flamed blood orange peel. It was the perfect prelude to an amazing braised lamb shank. From that point on it’s been my go-to cocktail order.
Most cocktail historians believe the drink was created in Florence by Count Camillo Negroni, who asked a bartender to substitute gin for soda water in his favorite drink, the Americano. Some say Camillo wasn’t a real count. If Camillo ran around Florence calling himself a count and invented this wonderful beverage, more power to him.
The classic Negroni is a perfect cocktail: equal parts gin, Compari, and sweet vermouth. Garnish it with an orange peel. I make mine with two parts gin, and I recommend you do too.
The Negroni format is flexible and forgiving, and has many respectable variations. The Boulevardier substitutes bourbon or rye for gin. An Old Pal subs rye for gin and dry for sweet vermouth. A bartender once told me, “it’s more crushable than a Negroni”, but I don’t recommend crushing too many.
I don’t know where I learned the following under-the-radar variation but it’s worth making. I couldn’t find it’s official name. Let’s call it the Carlito.
2 oz mezcal
1 oz Aperol
1 oz Punt y Mes
Pour over ice and stir ingredients. Strain into an ice-filled lowball glass. Garnish with a lemon peel.
I’ve been in self-quarantine the past two weeks since my daughter was part of the outbreak TR referenced in a previous post. I’ve been dry - trying to bolster my immunity and drop the 8 lbs I gained over the summer grilling and drinking beers. But it’s Friday, Negroni Week, the day after Free Queso Day, and I feel like celebrating.
Posts
18 comments:
that's quite a debut for king juan carlos. salud.
I grabbed a handle of gin yesterday, but now I have to go back for compari. Thanks Juan Carlos.
I’m alone in my house for the first time in months. It’s a good morning for loud tunes on the hi to and somber reflection, before I go back to the liquor store.
I just answered the home phone, which is usually a mistake.
It was a guy named Brady, whose door to door ministry has been curtailed by the pandemic, so he's cold calling folks.
He asked if I time for a scripture reading. I declined, as I was just about to put a Rolling Stones record on the turntable with a title that he surely would not like.
Sympathy for the Devil is the obvious guess. But Bitch and Little T&A are dark horse options there.
Good guess, but no. Their Satanic Majesties Request - the trippiest Stones album.
Ah. Album title. Dang it. She’s a Rainbow might please Brady. It’s a lively, lilting number that encourages good grooming habits for children.
Here’s a question for Juan Carlos or anyone... I hate gin. Does the Negroni mask the juniper jazz or am I better off just using bourbon?
I can drink Hendricks. But that’s about it for gin. Blech.
You say you hate gin, but have you ever taken a spoonful of it in your nose? That will make you hate it even more.
I finally overcame the gin snort incident a few years ago, after being shamed by a female bartender for drinking Tito's and soda. "You could at least do it with gin" she said. And she was right. Gin gives me a more pleasant buzz than vodka, and my handle of Tito's has been on untouched on the shelf for a couple of years now, unless my kids are sneaking it.
Ah yes, the halcyon days of gin snorting in the halls of Unit M. I remember it oh so (not) well.
Actually I think the gin snorting occurred at a lambo party. Might have been sig. I too am foggy on the particulars, except for the sting of gin and the brief headrush that followed.
Jeff Rouse was visiting his sister, who was Slick's girlfriend. Rouse was an Olympic gold medalist in the backstroke and he had all of the associated swagger. He showed up at Unit M with a pint bottle of cheap gin and a box of disposable spoons, and hazed everyone he met into snorting gin with him. His pitch was "Renee did one but you won't?!" I took my medicine like a man but I would not encourage anyone to try this recreationally.
Whitney - hard to say. It depends on how badly you vomited after drinking too much gin that one time. Work your way into it by staring with the whiskey or mezcal variations.
The Boulevadier is really excellent. Count Negroni probably didn't have access to bourbon or rye back in 1919. If you drink one, you should listen to a playlist created by a Boulevardier enthusiast.
Upon consultation with Wikipedia, Rouse's gold medal at the time was in the 4X100 relay--he only had a silver medal in the individual Olympic backstroke when he visited. That said, he was the world record holder at the time and he won individual gold in the 1996 Olympics. He hugged Renee immediately after he won, I was watching with some high school friends and we were all intoxicated and I said "Oh shit, I know her!" and no one cared.
Whit - Bulldog gin was founded by a fellow tribester and goes light on the juniper in favor of other botanicals. Might be a fit for you.
Oddly, the aforementioned Slick 50 has an offspring named Juniper. No confirmation about whether the name selection had anything to do with his ex’s olfactory imbibing spirit of choice.
Just had a Negroni. Pretty good, considering I skipped the orange garnish and my vermouth is dry. I’m pleasantly buzzed now.
Z- I’m wondering if the gin snorts happened twice and I was only there for the second round. In my memory he’d just won the gold medal for backstroke. But I might have been impaired.
I have met Silck Fitty’s elder two offspring. It brought me great joy to experience his family chaos for a few hours last time I was in chi. It felt familiar.
My in laws own two Italian restaurants. The one my brother in law runs does seasonal craft cocktails at the bar. Some version of Negroni is always on the menu.
Never snorted gin during my time in Gainesville. But...yeah.
Ed Reed is the “Chief of Staff” for Miami. Which, it seems, means he hangs out, keeps an eye on things, talks some shit when necessary and holds guys accountable on his own accord. Not a bad idea by Manny Diaz.
The U has a special culture that has somehow continued since the 80's.
Loving the Juan Carlos guestie. I'm not a gin fan, but I know he has become quite a mixologist in the last few years. I'm due for one.
Metallica from 2009 now playing on AXS. Robert Trujillo has been in that band for over 17 years, longer than Newsted was there. Crazy. I hope Hetfield can clean up enough for them to do one more tour.
Post a Comment