Normally, I do not participate in PR campaigns or any international events, but when Campari calls for the international Negroni week, I have at least to take note of that. In a way I feel obliged to that particular cocktail, which is probably my dearest and most favorite drink among them all (well, I definitely also love my Mint Julep, but a Negroni is definitely made a lot quicker). But what can I contribute to the international Negroni Week? Basically nothing really new or innovative, but still something very enriching.
The Negroni Week itself is actually an event, which since the first performance in 2013 is mainly addressed to bars in order to sell Negronis and Negroni variants while donating some of the profit for charity. Since I do not sell any Negronis here, I cannot really participate in the original sense. But I would like to draw your attention to this event and encourage you to order a Negroni in a participating bar! Furthermore, I also want to take the opportunity to introduce a drink, which I like to mix for myself from time to time and really appreciate it as one of the best Negroni twists: the Negroni Sour. Negroni Sour may sound like a contradiction at first since Negronis are characterized by the absence of any juices and are made only of three ingredients. When having a look at the recipe of the Negroni Sour all this is not the case: there are two different juices used and the number of ingredients exceeds three by far. The name must therefore have a different reason and this is simply the taste of the cocktail. And, of course, with Campari, one of the characteristic ingredients of the classic Negroni is also of the party.
The Negroni Sour originally comes from the Farmers & Distillers in Washington D.C., where it is prepared with a housemade spirit. I decided to opt for a classic gin and once again grabbed my bottle of Cotswolds, which works very well here. The recipe published by the Imbibe magazine also calls for an unspecified Amaro. Here I chose the artichoke bitter Cynar, which I greatly appreciate. The result is my personal favorite Negroni Sour:
Recipe “Negroni Sour” (slightly modified version):
4.5 cl of gin (a classic one, for instance Cotswolds)
3 cl Cynar
2.25 cl Campari
2.25 cl lemon juice
0.75 cl orange juice
0.75 cl sugar syrup
1 egg white
Preparation: First, do a dry shake with all ingredients without any ice. Then shake vigorously with ice cubes for about 20 seconds. Pour into pre-chilled glass.
Glass: Coupette
Garnitur: dried or (alternatively) grilled lemon wheel
Buying sources: At specialized retailers or online.
