Have you ever had a Negroni?

It is an Italian cocktail that is considered an aperitif. It is typically made with equal amounts of gin, sweet vermouth and Campari and is garnished with an orange wheel. Outside of Italy it is typically garnished with an orange peel. I used to love the idea of Negroni’s but I I always found myself less than pleased with the drink when I ordered it at a restaurant. That is until I sourced better quality Vermouth at the liquor store and changed the Campari in my recipe at home to Aperol.

During the summer I turn to cocktails that are more refreshing and the White Negroni is much more refreshing to me. This unique take on the original Negroni recipe did not originate from a moment of creativity but it was created when Nick Blacknell, the director or Plymouth Gin and London bartender, Wayne Collins were attending the 2011 Vinexpo, a spirits competition. They were staying in the Médoc, a small town in France and Blacknell was craving a Negroni. With no local bars in sight, they traveled to the local liquor stores for the ingredients. Once there they decided to make the Negroni’s with French ingredients since it seemed more appropriate to use ingredients from the country they were visiting. In order to do so, they decided to use Lillet Blanc to replace the Vermouth and they replaced the bitter Campari component with the herbal bitter aperitif, Suze. Because of the clear color they simply named it the White Negroni.

Since I am not a fan of Suze, I have taken the liberty of putting my own spin on this recipe and replacing it with Green Chartreuse. You could also use Yellow Chartreuse which just has a different herbal flavor. Because of the choice of Chartreuse this Negroni also has a French twist so I named it the French Riff as it is a Riff on the original White Negroni. The gin you choose will also play a huge part in the flavor profile and you may also notice that the ingredients in this white Negroni are no longer equal parts.

The French Riff

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Gin

1 oz Lillet Blanc

1/2 oz Green Chartreuse

Orange Peel or Lemon Peel

Add all of the ingredients to a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir until well combined. Strain into a rocks glass with a large cube and garnish with an orange or lemon peel.

Negroni Photo by Andrea Riezzo on Unsplash