Are you a huge fan of cocktails? Then you must have heard of that cocktail that has seven days of celebration dedicated to it. Over a decade ago, negroni wasn’t a cocktail many people knew, ordering a negroni was done with a secret handshake, a sign to the bartender to signal that you know what you are asking for.
In 2013, Imbibe magazine set aside a whole week to celebrate negroni as a cocktail. This event has grown into a nationwide event; a week when bars all over the country will serve different variations of this cocktail and send a portion of the proceeds to charity.
If you don’t know what a cocktail is, you might be feeling lost right now. Cocktails are alcoholic drink recipes; they could be a mix of one or different kinds of spirits with ingredients like syrup, cream, or juice. It is not uncommon to see it garnished with some kind of fruit.
Negroni is a cocktail that has caught the attention of the public right now. If you haven’t tried it, knowing what it tastes like might help you decide to ask for it when next you walk into a bar.
What does negroni taste like? Negroni tastes like herbs and roots, something similar to licorice. It is bitter but has enough fruity sweetness to help balance the taste. It has fruity flavors, accompanied by the zesty notes of grapefruit peel. Due to the gin present in it, you can also pick up notes of juniper, coriander seeds, and lemon.
The taste of negroni is complex and layered with different notes; it is an acquired taste.
In 2016, a ranking created by Drinks International put negroni in second place on the list of the most loved drinks in the world. You might not like the taste of negroni at first, all those complex layers might be hard to single out. Once you take a liking to it, you find yourself ordering for more.
Nutritional Benefits of Negroni
This Cocktail with simple ingredients and a complex taste is known as an apéritif. The word “apéritif” is a French word, it was used to describe concentrated alcoholic drinks during the Middle Ages. During that age, concentrated alcoholic drinks are traditionally consumed before a meal to help whet one’s appetite. The word translates into “to uncover or to open”.
Are you having trouble finding your appetite? Negroni might be able to help prod you in the right direction.
Negroni contains bitter spirits, and bitter taste has been associated with some of the greatest health and metabolic benefits. Bitter drinks help the digestion process in the body and the toning of internal organs. When you take anything bitter, your body responds to the bitter taste, and the mouth begins to produce digestive enzymes, anticipating food.
The stomach produces stomach enzymes and acids ready to digest the incoming food, the intestine will contract, the liver, and gallbladder will produce bile while the pancreas produces bicarbonate. The reason why we never enjoy the benefits of bitter drinks like negroni is that we try to drown the bitter taste with something sweet.
Negroni might be great for metabolism as it gets the body working, ready to digest anything you send down into your stomach. But the benefits of alcohol will reduce as the volume in your body increases. Negroni is one great cocktail, but overindulging cancels out the potential health benefits it holds for the body.
How Do You Make a Negroni?
Negroni has just three basic ingredients, to make this exotic cocktail, all you need is one part gin, one part sweet vermouth, and one part Campari (you can substitute Campari for Calisaya which has more natural ingredients). Add all of this to a glass of ice and add a slice of orange peel to garnish it. One cup before a meal is sure to help pump your appetite.
Origin of Negroni
Like many beautiful things, negroni comes from Italy and like every other cocktail, it needs to have a good story. The story of negroni begins in Café Casoni in Florence. It was 1919 and the Italian nobleman Count Camillo Negroni had just returned from America to Italy. He made a living in America as a riverboat gambler and rodeo cowboy, he stopped by Café Casoni and asked the bartender Fosco Scartelli, for an americano.
The americano drink is made with Campari, vermouth, and soda water, when Count Negrino ordered his drink, he requested that soda water be replaced with gin. The bartender agrees to Negroni’s request, he switches the slice of lemon that was used to garnish americano with a slice of orange to differentiate the new drink from the americano. In this manner, the negroni was born, and even though it is over 100 years old, it is still the rave today.
Negroni is rising in popularity, and we have celebrities like the actor Stanley Tucci, who has helped popularize the cocktail. If you are a bartender, Negroni is a cocktail that is very easy to make. If you don’t have any experience with bartending, you can still make this cocktail for your friends and family to enjoy at home.
Why is Negroni So Popular?
Negroni is a very sophisticated cocktail, it represents the Italian mood of nonchalance and urbane elegance. The bitter taste makes it a drink for grownups and the fact that it is an acquired taste adds a premium feel to the drink. The negroni is popular because it feels like a serious drink that fits the times we are in.
Facts You Don’t Know About Negroni
- Negroni isn’t a drink you can only order at the bar, there is a tiny, canned negroni you can enjoy.
- There are various kinds of negroni drinks, bartenders like to experiment but all negronis share Campari as the main ingredient.