The Negroni Story
Background
If you’ve spent any time at a bar, chances are you’ve heard of the Negroni.
A cocktail made by mixing equal parts of gin, campari, and vermouth, with an orange peel for garnishing.
In the realm of classic cocktails, the Negroni sets itself apart with it’s distinctly striking color, and a flavor that is light and sweet while having a hint of bitterness.
You’ll be forgiven for not instantly being able to appreciate the Negroni. The flavour can be shocking and even unpleasant to newcomers. But once you acquire the taste, you’ll realize why the Negroni has become such an icon - enjoyed by the likes of Orson Welles and Ernest Hemingway, and featured in pop-culture classics such as James Bond, and The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone.
But how exactly did a cocktail made with only three key ingredients rise to such a phenomenal scale?
The Origins
The origins of the Negroni are not as glamorous as it’s current iconic status would have you believe.
The most widely accepted origin of this cocktail takes us back to Florence, Italy, 1919.
An Italian Count by the name of Camilo Negroni asked bartender Fosco Scarselli, to create a slightly strong version of his favorite cocktail - the Americano. The bartender substituted the soda water used in the Americano with gin and added an orange peel for garnish rather than the typical lemon slice.
At that moment the Negroni was born, and history was made.
The Negroni family went on to found their distillery, the “Negroni Distillerie”, in Treviso Italy.
From this point on, the drink made its way into the hands of Orson Welles, widely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. He had this to say about the cocktail - “The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.”
Although the exact origins of this drink are still often disputed and argued about till this day, one thing is for sure. The cocktail world would not be the same if it weren’t for one fateful, experimental, concoction.
The Negroni Collection
It is because of the iconic legacy of the Negroni that we were inspired to incorporate this timeless cocktail into our line of clothing.
The Negroni has grown into such a household name that we thought leaving it out of our cocktail-themed collection would be a disservice to the global status of the drink, as well as to the entire history of cocktails.
