Negroni Punch

As long time readers of the blog are aware, I'm a big fan of the Negroni. But sometimes, I want something a bit lighter, especially when it's hot out. For a long time, I went for a Campari soda to get that nice refreshing bitterness. But this past weekend, I happened to have a grapefruit lying around, so I thought I'd see what I could do with it. I like the way negronis go with grapefruit anyway, so that's where I went.

I combined the juice of half of the grapefruit with an oversized negroni, and topped it off with soda water. I think I should have gone with a normal sized negroni, since there wasn't a whole lot of room for the soda when everything was said and done. But it ended up good enough that my wife made me make her one, so not too shabby. It's a great drink for an overly hot summer afternoon. Recipe after the jump.

La Rosita

Ah, spring, that time of year when a young man's thoughts turn to tequila. I don't drink tequila particularly often, but while I associate it with spring and summer, I drink it year-round. It's too nice of a brown liquor not to drink during the winter. I like a good margarita as much as the next guy, but from time to time, it's fun to do something different. Michael Dietsch posted a drink on his blog, Dash of Bitters, that sounded good to me, in large part due to it's inclusion of Campari.

I like the drink. The tequila is powerful enough to stand up to the Campari, though it would be interesting to try with some Aperol instead. Between the Campari and the tequila, it's quite boozy, and not very sweet. Dietsch describes it as slightly herbal, lightly bitter. It's certainly not a drink if you don't love Campari and tequila both. Fortunately, I do, and the slight amount of herbaceousness that comes through is a nice change from your typical light on the palate summertime drinks. Recipe after the jump.

High Plains Drifter #2

Picture from flickr, by mslaura

Recently, the Speakista ran a series of posts on tequila cocktails. It made me sad, because I like tequila, yet I didn't have the ingredients required to make most of his cocktails. So there was only one solution. Buy some green Chartreuse! For the most part, that was the ingredient I was missing. And it does go well with tequila. Green Chartreuse is very herby, which meshes well with the vegetal nature of tequila.

I'm not sure this cocktail is the best showcase for that pairing, however. It's tasty, don't get me wrong. But it ends up being a bit too sweet; I think the Chartreuse ends up over powering the tequila. There's two solutions here. I could put in less Chartreuse, or I could add something. I suspect mezcal would work okay, but that would change the drink. And now that I'm transcribing the recipe, I realize I forgot the Campari. That might make a difference. Recipe after the jump.

Tre Amici

I started off wanting to do a variant negroni with the new bitter I bought over the weekend, but this turned into something else entirely. I was going to swap out the Campari for Aperol, but then started thinking about the other substitutions I could make, a la the Mr. Potato Head theory of cocktails. I know that Cardamaro can be a good substitute for sweet vermouth, if you like your drinks a bit more savory and bitter (and I do!) So that led me to start thinking about what I could sub for the gin.

Most of your major spirits don't make good substitutes for gin. Vodka is boring. Rum is sweeter and, to be honest, often less complex. And the brown spirits are really another thing entirely. But I had the fortune of purchasing (finally) a bottle of Cocchi Americano yesterday, and was eager to try it out. So I figured why not sub the Cocchi in for the gin? The first sip was fairly tasty, but a bit bitter. It needed something to tie it together. After two dashes of Boker's Bitters, it was complete.

Unsurprisingly, the Tre Amici is fairly bitter. But it's balanced out by the latent sweetness in the Cardamaro, and the Boker's really helps tie it together. You can taste all of the components, but they work off of each other to produce an exceptionally balanced cocktail. Recipe after the jump.

Negroni

When I first started drinking cocktails, the Manhattan was my go-to cocktail. I still enjoy Manhattans (often), but my list of go-to cocktails has expanded to include the Negroni as a close second. I love the way the sweetness of the vermouth and the gin blends with the bitterness of the Campari and the sourness of the bitters.

1 oz Campari
1 oz Sweet Vermouth (Dolin Rouge)
1 oz Gin (New Amsterdam)
dash, grapefruit bitters

I haven't really experimented with the type of vermouth much, since Dolin is flexible enough to work fine with a variety of cocktails. I suspect Carpano Antica wouldn't work as well since it's so rich, but I don't really have space or money for an infinite number of vermouths. Campari is what it is, of course, but for a change you could consider using Aperol instead. I like to use a sweeter gin to balance out the Campari, so New Amsterdam works well for me. I've also used Bluecoat with good results, but I wouldn't use an expensive gin, since the subtlety would be lost in the Campari.

Blood Orange Negroni

This recipe comes from Matt Gilpin of Bottega via Serious Eats. It's a twist on the traditional Negroni, reducing the amount of Campari and sweet vermouth and replacing them with blood orange juice. It's really good. More citric than a traditional Negroni, the blood orange juice adds a different set of nuances, more acid and just a bit more sweetness. I went without the grapefruit bitters I usually add, and I think that was the right decision. I don't think I'd do this with normal orange juice; the extra sweetness of the blood orange is crucial here. I'm curious to see if I flamed the rind whether that would add anything. Fortunately, blood oranges are in season!
Blood Orange Negroni:
1 oz gin (New Amsterdam)
1/2 oz sweet vermouth (Dolin)
1/2 oz Campari
1 oz blood orange juice (probably closer to .75 oz)

Negroni and Amaro

Photoediting courtesy of GIMP

In a recent post, I mentioned that one of The Passenger's drinks of the day was a Negroni & Amaro, an otherwise traditional Negroni with Averna subbing out for the sweet vermouth. I didn't order one at the time, because I figured I could make one myself at home. So here it is:

Negroni & Amaro
1 oz Gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz Averna

This is one tasty drink, and a good counter-point to the traditional Negroni. Where that drink balances out the tartness of the Campari with the sweetness of the vermouth, this one does its balancing with the bitterness of the amaro. It's complex and rich, perfect for this time of year. I can imagine this being really good with some chocolate bitters, though less well with the grapefruit bitters I typically use in negronis. Overall, an excellent winter drink.