For the past 2 years, Negroni Week is celebrated worldwide during the first seven days in June. What started in 2012 by Imbibe Magazine and Campari morphed into a worldwide celebration for that cocktail first created for Count Camillo Negroni by barkeep Fosco Scarselli at Caffe Casoni when the Count wanted something a little stronger than seltzer in his Americano substituting gin and creating the infamous Negroni in 1919.
I still remember my first Negroni sampled some 20-something years ago at the Buckeye Roadhouse in Mill Valley. Though the classic is usually equal parts of gin, sweet vermouth and Campari, the Buckeye Roadhouse used a mixture of sweet and dry vermouth that I still enjoy until now... though my favorite rendition requires Bafferts gin and 2/3 parts of white to 1/3 part of red vermouth and it must be shaken, not stirred and served neat, not on the rocks with that orange peel twist and still with that perfect ice line in a martini glass... the perfect blend of bitter and sweet (just like life itself) with hints of citrus...
The Gochiso Gourmet's Perfect Negroni
1 ounce Bafferts gin
2/3 ounce dry vermouth
1/3 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Campari
Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice just removed from the freezer. Pour in a martini glass and garnish with a twist of orange peel. Sit back and enjoy listening to Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra.
You can visit the website: http://negroniweek.com/participating-bars-2015/ to see which bars are participating in Negroni Week in your neck of the woods - during the week a portion of all Negroni sales are donated to a specified charity - last year over $120,000 was raised for various charities. And if you can't find a bar in your neighborhood, simply mix or shake a Negroni at home!
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