Cocktail of the Week: The Negroni

Oh man, here is the first thing I like! After first discovering the ol' G&T and floating a couple years on the classic Martini, I have a new favorite cocktail. I have not strayed from gin, the king of all liquors. I find in gin drinkers a distinction and willingness to become belligerent unmatched amongst those who prefer other liquors, save for the drinkers of maybe a nice scotch.

Anyway, I ordered a Negroni, knowing it involved Campari, about a month ago when I was in Pittsburgh. I was already drunk, and I was trying to impress people I didn't know. When they asked what was in it, I said, "I dunno. Campari and something else." It was an impressive moment.

It was also one of the greater moments for my tongue. Here was a drink what was pink and still felt like it could put hair on my chest. It tasted like Campari but not really. And when I looked it up on Wikipedia the next day, it said there was gin in it. I was saved! I had found the ultimate androgynous, classy, complicated, potent beverage!

A Negroni is one part gin, one part Campari, and one part sweet vermouth. It is not an old man drink, like most drinks involving Campari. Also, Wikipedia says that its name is not racist, but Italian-- a drink of many subtleties, the Negroni.

In a variation, I had a Negroni topped with Prosecco at a local restaurant the other day. This combined my favorite sparkling white wine with my favorite cocktail. It won for the moment, as I was craving something sweet, although I wouldn't go for it all the time.

So it's my new pretty great thing that I order when I only want one drink. The Negroni is the cocktail of champions and of me.