At The Lighthouse and Boboli we do love a good Negroni . . . one of the most popular Italian cocktails comprising of campari, red martini and gin . . . or try a sbagliato, without the gin and prosecco instead!!!
The origins of this classic are said to be from Firenze, back in 1919, concocted by or for, depends whose report you read, Count Camillo Negroni . . . they say that the vermouth and campari are good for the liver and counteract the negatives of the gin!!!
Whatever! We love it wherever it came from!
I was first introduced to it when living in Firenze at the time Lino and I met. I remember our fond farewells when I departed for the UK, leaving him in Italy and not knowing how or if we were going to make "this thing” happen. We sat at the Firenze train station bar, on the platform as I recall, toasting the unknown with a Negroni.
So, all these years on and here we are, still drinking Negroni, served these days in all the best places and bars, not least of all in our own restaurants. It’s not everyone’s tipple, it is neat alcohol after all, no mixer involved . . . but I am happy to say that it does have a following.
Whilst writing this blog, I discovered my mother (from whom I learnt all good things) had never had a negroni – the horror! – we soon put that right!!
Our friend Patrick introduced us to The Queenie, a very similar drink made with Dubonnet . . . mmmmm . . . delish, a worthy alternative we feel.
Oh dear it’s all about the cocktails this week!!!
A presto,
Sarah x
By the way, ‘sbagliato’ is mistaken in Italian, and it is said that in a Milan bar in 1972, prosecco instead of gin was added to a negroni by mistake. The ‘mistake’ caught on and it is now a classic in its own right.