Negroni Week 2022 is the perfect time to enjoy a fancy cocktail while supporting a charitable cause. This year's event is the 10th annual ode to the classic cocktail, which has equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. It started on September 12 and would culminate on September 18. Imbibe Magazine started the week-long international Negroni event in 2013. It was to celebrate one of the world's great cocktails and an effort to raise proceeds for charitable causes globally. There are many fascinating facts about this drink which has this dedicated week-long soiree.
A twist of another cocktail
An Americano was a popular drink choice for the enigmatic Italian Count Camillo Negroni. It was a classic cocktail with Campari, sweet vermouth, soda water, and a lemon peel on top. One day, Negroni entered a café and requested an Americano made with gin rather than soda. The eponymous Negroni was created at that exact moment, according to Anne Louise Marquis, national portfolio brand ambassador for Campari America, when bartender Fosco Scarselli substituted an orange twist for the Americano's customary lemon peel.
Place of origin
It is thought that the Café Casoni in Florence, Italy, where the Negroni is said to have been created. Today, the fabled cocktail's purported birthplace is known as Giacosa Café. Even though the cafe has since closed, devotees of the beverage can still go to a memorial there.
A glass of Negroni, Image Credit: Pexels
Polarizing flavours
Some claim, however, that getting used to the cocktail's distinctive bitter palate takes time. The contentious Negroni, according to a few others, has a little bit of ""acquired taste."" Therefore, if you haven't decided whether you enjoy it yet, you might want to give it another go a few times. To really appreciate a Negroni, one should ideally have three of them.
Italy embraces it as an Aperitvo hour drink
Aperitvo hour is probably more well-known in Italy. It honours the start of the night. This time offers small portions of food and light, pungency beverages. They are not intended to fill you up but rather to prepare your palette for a meal to come. The Negroni, a traditional, bitter Italian drink, is frequently served during Aperitvo hour.
Negroni has diverse recipes
There are many variations. The Negroni Sbagliato is one such version. According to legend, this drink was accidentally made when a bartender prepared a Negroni using sparkling wine rather than gin. The Italian word sbagliato translates to a mistake in English, hence the name. The Old Pal and Boulevardier are two other versions. Both contain whiskey, either rye or bourbon, rather than gin, as in the Negroni.
Now you have more reasons to celebrate Negroni week.