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Negroni
The negroni is an Italian cocktail, made of equal parts gin, vermouth rosso (red, semi-sweet), and Campari, generally served on the rocks, and commonly garnished with an orange slice or orange peel. It is considered an apéritif.
The drink has been documented in Italy since the late 1940s, and became popular in the 1950s, but the origin is uncertain, and early recipes differ somewhat from the modern standard. The basic recipe – an equal-parts cocktail of these three ingredients – is first recorded in French cocktail books of the late 1920s, alongside many similar drinks; in Italy a long drink of equal parts vermouth and Campari (but no gin), topped with soda and served over ice, has existed since the 1800s under the names Milano–Torino or Americano. There are claims of Italian drinks by the name "Negroni" containing gin from 1919, though these differ significantly from the modern drink; see § History for details.
The IBA recipe for the negroni specifies that it be built over ice in an old-fashioned or rocks glass and garnished with a slice of orange, similar to an old fashioned or spritz (short, minus the soda).
Common variations include using an orange peel (or lemon peel) in place of an orange slice (especially outside Italy), stirring then pouring over ice, and sometimes stirring and serving straight up.
The drink's origins are not known with certainty, and one must distinguish the modern recipe (an equal-parts cocktail of gin, vermouth rosso, and Campari, served over ice) from the name "negroni". See surveys Wondrich (2019) and Difford.
To summarize, the documentary evidence is consistent with the drink originating as a short, American-style cocktail in 1920s France, like its well-documented contemporary, the old pal (and similar cocktails such as the boulevardier), and was most popular in the 1930s and early 1940s as a 2:1:1 drink, served up, called the Campariete. In the late 1940s the short drink then acquired the name negroni from a separate, similar long Italian-style drink of vermouth and soda, with small amounts of Campari and gin, served over ice; or from a variant of the Milano–Torino or Americano, equal parts vermouth and Campari, with a small amount of gin, plus soda, served over ice. By the mid-1950s the preferred name was "negroni" and the preferred ratio was 1:1:1, served over ice but without soda.
The earliest known attestation of a drink with the same ingredients and proportions (1:1:1) as the modern recipe is from the French cocktail book Alimbau & Milhorat (1929), where it is referred to as "Campari Mixte", and the recipe is given as:
This differs from the modern IBA recipe in a few respects: it is shaken, not built; it is presumably served straight up (implied for cocktails), not down on the rocks; and it is garnished with a lemon twist, not an orange slice. All of these make it closer to a standard American-style cocktail than an Italian-style drink.
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Negroni
The negroni is an Italian cocktail, made of equal parts gin, vermouth rosso (red, semi-sweet), and Campari, generally served on the rocks, and commonly garnished with an orange slice or orange peel. It is considered an apéritif.
The drink has been documented in Italy since the late 1940s, and became popular in the 1950s, but the origin is uncertain, and early recipes differ somewhat from the modern standard. The basic recipe – an equal-parts cocktail of these three ingredients – is first recorded in French cocktail books of the late 1920s, alongside many similar drinks; in Italy a long drink of equal parts vermouth and Campari (but no gin), topped with soda and served over ice, has existed since the 1800s under the names Milano–Torino or Americano. There are claims of Italian drinks by the name "Negroni" containing gin from 1919, though these differ significantly from the modern drink; see § History for details.
The IBA recipe for the negroni specifies that it be built over ice in an old-fashioned or rocks glass and garnished with a slice of orange, similar to an old fashioned or spritz (short, minus the soda).
Common variations include using an orange peel (or lemon peel) in place of an orange slice (especially outside Italy), stirring then pouring over ice, and sometimes stirring and serving straight up.
The drink's origins are not known with certainty, and one must distinguish the modern recipe (an equal-parts cocktail of gin, vermouth rosso, and Campari, served over ice) from the name "negroni". See surveys Wondrich (2019) and Difford.
To summarize, the documentary evidence is consistent with the drink originating as a short, American-style cocktail in 1920s France, like its well-documented contemporary, the old pal (and similar cocktails such as the boulevardier), and was most popular in the 1930s and early 1940s as a 2:1:1 drink, served up, called the Campariete. In the late 1940s the short drink then acquired the name negroni from a separate, similar long Italian-style drink of vermouth and soda, with small amounts of Campari and gin, served over ice; or from a variant of the Milano–Torino or Americano, equal parts vermouth and Campari, with a small amount of gin, plus soda, served over ice. By the mid-1950s the preferred name was "negroni" and the preferred ratio was 1:1:1, served over ice but without soda.
The earliest known attestation of a drink with the same ingredients and proportions (1:1:1) as the modern recipe is from the French cocktail book Alimbau & Milhorat (1929), where it is referred to as "Campari Mixte", and the recipe is given as:
This differs from the modern IBA recipe in a few respects: it is shaken, not built; it is presumably served straight up (implied for cocktails), not down on the rocks; and it is garnished with a lemon twist, not an orange slice. All of these make it closer to a standard American-style cocktail than an Italian-style drink.