negroni

#NegroniWeek 2015 – Breakfast Negroni

/ Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

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Hello Breakfast Kweens and welcome once again to #NegroniWeek! NEGRONIS ALL WEEK Y’ALL! All damn week! Negroni Week is put on by Campari and Imbibe Magazine as a charity drive for bars and restaurants to participate in. You can check it out here.

Now, if you haven’t read my post from May 31st about how I like to make and Bottle my Negroni, you best get to it! Did you read it? Yasssss Kween. Did you not? grrrrrrl, get on it!

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This Negroni is for those of us who, like myself, are 1. obsessed with Grapefruit Juice, 2. love a good Breakfast Cocktail, and obviously 3. can’t get enough Negroni in their life!

Breakfast Negroni

  • 2 1/2 oz Bottled Negroni
  • 1 oz Red Grapefruit Juice
  • 1 dash Orange Bitters
  • Garnish: Orange Peel rose

Combine ingredients over ice and shake. Strain into chilled Coupe and garnish with Orange Peel rose.

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I want to drink two of these right now. I shall control myself but goodness, self control is hard y’all! Cheers!

#NegroniWeek 2015 – Saint Negroni

/ Dani DeLuna / Leave a comment

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Welcome one and all to #NegroniWeek! This is perhaps the best week of the whole year as far as cocktails go because NEGRONIS ALL WEEK Y’ALL! Negroni Week is put on by Campari and Imbibe Magazine as a charity drive for bars and restaurants to participate in. You can read all about it here.

Now, if you haven’t read my post from May 31st about how I like to make and bottle my Negroni, read it now and then return here. Did you read it? Good. Did you not read it? Hmmmmmm.

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The Saint Negroni is actually a cocktail I came up with during last year’s #NegroniWeek whilst I was mixing Bottled Negroni with different liqueurs. The elderflower flavour from St-Germain pairs so well with the Bitter, Orange and Gin flavours of Negroni that I’m drinking the Saint Negroni again this year. Plus this drink is a really bright and cheery way to start #NegroniWeek.

Saint Negroni

  • 2 1/2 oz Bottled Negroni
  • 3/4 oz St-Germain
  • 2 dashes of Scrappy’s Grapefruit Bitters
  • Garnish: Orange Peel rose

Combine ingredients over ice and stir. Strain into chilled double Rocks glass. Garnish with Orange Peel rose.

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I hope y’all have a fabulous time making up tasty Negroni variations of your own! Cheers!

#NegroniWeek 2015

/ Dani DeLuna / 7 Comments

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Negroni. It’s a word uttered rather often on Home Bar Girl. It’s perhaps one of the best classic cocktails of all time and definitely a drink I like to riff on. Well, did y’all know that there is an entire week dedicated to the Negroni? Each year for the past few years, Campari and Imbibe Magazine have put on Negroni Week as a charity drive for bars and restaurants to participate in. You can read all about it here.

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I love the Negroni because it’s simple, supremely well balanced, bitter, and sweet all at the same time. It’s made with equal parts Campari, Sweet Vermouth, and Gin, served on the rocks, and usually has an Orange peel garnish. It’s great in the winter, excellent in the summer.

Here’s how I like to make it: I use Carpano Antica because it has a wonderful spice set and is very supple in the mouth. Same goes for Plymouth Gin, very smooth and easy in the mouth and not too much bite.

Home Bar Girl’s Negroni

  • 1 oz Campari
  • 1 oz Carpano Antica Formula
  • 1 oz Plymouth Gin
  • Garnish: Orange peel rose

Combine ingredients over ice and stir. Strain into double rocks glass over one big rock. Express Orange peel, curl into a rose, and garnish.

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Now since it’s #NegroniWeek, I like to have a lot of Negroni on hand so I can mix it with other things. Actually, I usually keep Bottled Negroni in my home bar because it actually seems to mellow a bit as all those ingredients sit together in the bottle.

This recipe is for a 375ml bottle. I used an old bottle of Carpano Antica, that way if any residual flavours are still lingering about, they would just mix with the Negroni Ingredients.

Home Bar Girl’s Bottled Negroni

  • 125 ml Campari
  • 125 ml Carpano Antica Formula
  • 125 ml Plymouth Gin

Combine ingredients in bottle. Let it sit for as long as you like. It will get more awesome the longer it sits. I promise.

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Now that we’ve got our Bottled Negroni all ready for #NegroniWeek, I encourage everyone to start thinking of things you’d like to mix it with. I’ll be posting recipes for Negroni variations from June 1-7, so keep checking in!

Cheers!

Improved Negronis are for Chinese New Year

/ Dani DeLuna / Leave a comment

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Gung Hay Fat Choy to you all! It’s Chinese New Year! Growing up in the SF Bay Area meant many a fun trip to Chinatown for New Year festivities and I totally loved the parades! My darling girlfriend is Chinese American and so this celebration has taken on a whole new meaning for me! I’ve noticed that no other culture wishes that everyone has Luck as much as the Chinese culture. So to you all I say, “May you be prosperous and full of luck!”

Trivia? Which drink goes perfectly with the rich and varied flavours of Chinese food cause it cuts right through the mix? NEGRONI! Bing, Bing, Bing! You did it! The citrus and bitter notes of a Negroni pair well with the heavy foods in a traditional Chinese New Year dinner and Red is the color of the celebration.

This is not just any Negroni though, this is An Improved Negroni. You may be thinking, “this bitch, why does she think she can ‘improve’ a Negroni?” But I’m not such a crazy bitch! “Improved Cocktails” are actually a category of drink. If you look back on the grand history of cocktails, the original ones were in an Old Fashioned format. The “improvements” meant adding things like a dash of Absinthe or two dashes of Maraschino.

My improvements are: adjusting the ratios, adding Maraschino and using Blood Orange peel in the drink for added Citrusness. Sun Ye Fai Lok!

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An Improved Negroni

  • 1 1/2 oz Plymouth Gin
  • 3/4 oz Campari
  • 3/4 oz Carpano Antica Vermouth
  • 2 dashes Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
  • Garnish: Blood Orange Peel

Combine ingredients and stir over ice until proper dilution has been achived. Strain into rocks glass with ice. Express Blood Orange Peel and Garnish.

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An Improved Negroni in the wild at Chinese New Year 2014. I have switched vermouth since then y’all! 

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Let’s just look at this drink again. Campari, you make me turn red all over. Remember #EveryWeekIsNegroniWeek

A Fashionable Fellow

/ Dani DeLuna / Leave a comment

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Awooooohoooo, this is a damn tasty cocktail if I do say so myself. I was playing with Boulevardier variations and trying to make a more wintry/holiday version. Here we are: Campari, Sweet Vermouth, Bourbon and Apple Brandy in equal parts. YES!

Note: the Boulevardier is a variation on a Negroni and you all know how much I love Negroni! #EveryWeekIsNegroniWeek

A Fashionable Fellow

  • 3/4 oz Campari
  • 3/4 oz Carpano Antica Formula
  • 3/4 oz Laird’s Apple Brandy
  • 3/4 oz Elijah Craig 12 Year Bourbon
  • Lemon peel

In tin, combine Campari, Carpano Antica, Apple Brandy and Bourbon over cracked ice. Stir and strain into coupe. Express Lemon peel and garnish.

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Boozy and delicious. I almost made two of them but decided to be safe. SAFETY FIRST.

Negroni + Sazerac = Negroniac

/ Dani DeLuna / 3 Comments

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Ok, bear with me a moment because I want y’all to think about this before you read any further: What if one were to combine a Negroni with a Sazerac? Think about it.

Did you stop and think about it?

Okay.

Fireworks, explosions, singing choruses, high school bands waving banners and cheerleaders flipping through the air right? YES. This could honestly be the best tasting Serious Cocktail I’ve ever created.

This cocktail is especially fantastic if you are able to get that St. George Absinthe Verte. I’ve said it in the My Home Bar page of Home Bar Girl, but this Absinthe is the most delicious one in the world, IN THE WORLD! It’s an herbal paradise with a bouquet of lemon grass, basil, mint, fennel and other herbs.

Really though, the whole idea of combining these two classics was just too good to remain in my head and I had to know! Remember, I keep Negroni bottled so I can use it for occasions such as these. Also keep in mind that the measurements are exact! Too much Rye and the drink is way off!

Negroniac

  • 1 3/4 oz Negroni
  • 1 1/4 oz Rye (Redemption used here)
  • 2 Dashes of Regans’ Orange Bitters
  • St. George Absinthe Verte Rinse
  • Lemon Peel

Rinse rocks glass with Absinthe and chill. In tin, combine Negroni and Rye over cracked ice. Stir and strain into chilled glass. Express and discard Lemon Peel. Santé!

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Remember, every week is #NegroniWeek!

Variations on a Theme: Negroni Bianco

/ Dani DeLuna / 4 Comments

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The Negroni Bianco: So many Variations, so many options, so little time. After acquiring some Cocchi Americano and Salers Aperitif, I knew, I just knew that I would be destined to make at least a dozen Negroni Bianco Variations in a very short amount of time. Don’t worry, I won’t force you to read through all of my trials and tribulations, just the top 4.

These cocktails are all stirred on cracked ice and served up.

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Variazioni #1: Salers Bianco

  • 1 oz Mayfair London Dry Gin
  • 1 oz Dolin Dry
  • 1 oz Salers Aperitif
  • Celery Bitters

The Salers and Celery Bitters really shine through on this one. Very Herbaceous, very Gentian, very Provençal.

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Variazioni #2: Mt Tam Negroni

  • 1 oz St George Terroir Gin
  • 1 oz Cocchi Americano
  • 1 oz Dolin Blanc
  • Lemon Peel

St George Terroir Gin is the star of the show here. Cocchi Americano and Dolin Blanc create a nice undercurrent of subtle flavours upon which the supremely awesome Mt Tam botanicals rest.

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Variazioni #3: New York Negroni

  • 1 oz Dorothy Parker Gin
  • 1 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
  • 1 oz Cocchi Americano
  • 2 dashes of Orange Bitters

This totally tastes like what any serious Martini-type New Yorker would drink if they wanted a different cocktail. Dorothy Parker comes through first, Dolin Dry second and then Cocchi Americano and Orange Bitters. Sublime.

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Variazioni #4: DiLuna Negroni

  • 1 oz Plymouth Gin
  • 1 oz Dolin Dry
  • 1 oz Suze
  • Lemon Peel

I’ve made it a habit of ordering this particular variation at bars which serve Suze and on multiple occasions have been asked by the bartender, “Wow! Did you make this up?” Yes, yes I did. One bartender at Marco’s in Brooklyn even strongly suggested that I name it before someone else does.

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Enjoy these variations and please submit any of your own in the comments or send them to homebargirl@gmail.com!

Saint Negroni

/ Dani DeLuna / 2 Comments

Saint Negroni

Myself and my mentor Angel Negrín hold to the firm belief that #EveryWeekIsNegroniWeek. I created this cocktail as a series of drinks for Negroni Week and love how the smoothness of St-Germain mellows out the bitterness of Campari. I like to keep Negroni bottled* and ready to go so that I can use it to mix with cocktails or sip it whenever I so desire. The bonus of keeping it bottled is that the Gin, Sweet Vermouth and Campari will blend together more and more with each passing day!

Saint Negroni

  • 2 oz Negroni
  • 3/4 oz St-Germain
  • Orange peel

Combine ingredients in tin over cracked ice and stir. Strain into rocks glass over one big rock. Express Orange peel and use as garnish.

*For this particular bottled Negroni I used Plymouth Gin, Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth and Campari.