Honey Whisky Negroni Recipe

‘The Beegroni'

The Negroni is a traditional Italian cocktail found on most drinks menus around the world and consumed as a popular aperitif due to its complex, bitter flavours, which are notorious for stimulating one’s palette. Classically composed of Vermouth, Gin and Campari, in equal parts, and garnished with a slither of orange peel, the drink is famously strong and pretty lethal if consumed in large quantities… However, when drunk in moderation, the Negroni is a delicious cocktail which can be served both as a refreshing ice-cold drink in summer and also as a more warming drink, served at room temperature, to slowly sip on in the cold winter months.

The Negroni is believed to have been invented in 1919 by a bartender, named Fosco Scarselli, working at Caffe Casoni in Florence, Italy. It is alleged that Count Camillo Negroni, a regular customer at the bar, requested a stronger version of his favourite cocktail, the Americano (made up of Campari, Sweet Vermouth and Soda Water). Therefore, Scarselli replaced the soda water with Gin and served the new drink short instead of long. In addition, the traditional Americano garnish of lemon peel was also famously replaced with orange peel .

Initially known as ‘Count Negroni’s drink’, the cocktail became a popular order among Italians and was later renamed ‘The Negroni’. Soon after its creation, the Negroni family founded the Negroni distillery in Treviso where they developed a premixed version of the drink, ‘the Antico Negroni’.

Although bitter, Orsen Welles, the American film director, famously stated in 1947 whilst tasting a Negroni in Rome; “the bitters are excellent for your liver, the Gin is bad for you. They balance each other out”!

Today there are now many variations of the Negroni which exist. The ‘Negroni Sbagliato’ (the Mistaken Negroni) was first invented in Bar Bosso in Milan and is a sparkling version of the drink, replacing the Gin with Prosecco. The ‘White Negroni’ is another classic, coined by Wayne Collins in 2001, which is comprised of Gin, Lillet Blanc and Suze. In addition, although traditionally served with an orange peel garnish, this can vary. For example, some recipes use herbs such as rosemary or thyme as a finishing touch to add a slight twist to it.

Honey Whisky Negroni

Our version of the Negroni replaces the Gin with Beeble Honey Whisky. This adds a hint of sweetness to the traditionally bitter drink, however the strength and depth to the cocktail is still very much there! We like to stir ours in an ice-filled mixing glass to slightly dilute the ingredients and enhance the botanical flavours. Then we strain it into a rocks glass and serve over ice with an orange peel garnish.