The Negroni, a favourite of bartenders and punters all over the world and when Drinks International (DI) recently unveiled its list of the World’s Best-Selling Cocktails for 2022 it finally made the number one spot.
DI asked 100 bars around the world to rank their best-selling cocktails and after eight years in second place the Negroni finally overtook the Old Fashioned to take top spot.
Bars and Clubs spoke to Stephen Zapelli, Head Bartender of Curious Bar at W Melbourne about what makes the Negroni such a classic, why it remains popular and why it works so well for modern and even Australian interpretations.
B&C: What is it about the Negroni that makes it such a consistently popular cocktail?
SZ: The tasty, herby, rooty, dark-fruited flavours with bright juniper, tangy with lemon or coriander seed, is so perfect after a hard day’s work or on any warm summer day. I believe unlike a lot of other cocktails, a guest always feels confident ordering a Negroni due to its consistency, three equal parts. For every bartender it’s one of the first cocktails they learn to make, and the guests don’t need to worry about the quality of the produce the bars have.
B&C: How are modern bartenders riffing on this classic cocktail and updating it?
SZ: The Negroni is definitely a popular cocktail to put a different spin on, normally what you see is swapping gin for another spirit and adding bitters to make up for the loss of the botanical from the gin, serving the drink up rather than on ice, also aging the whole cocktail, adding the woody component. For me, as long as there is a strong hit of Campari it’s a win in my books.
B&C: What are the challenges of creating something new with the parameters of a cocktail’s recipe?
SZ: New cocktails are always challenging, but it’s only hard if you have nothing to go off. The style of food served needs to be considered, using similar ingredients as the chefs or ingredients that go well with what their creation. Do you want to tell a story with the cocktails? Or build a concept.
B&C: When does an interpretation of a classic simply become a new cocktail? Or does it?
SZ: Interpretations of classics are so often very far from the real thing, take the Espresso Martini, a simple spin would be to use honey instead of sugar. But some interpretations would change the vodka to whisky, the coffee liqueur to amaro, they may use an obscure sweetening agent and some bitter, but keep that shot of espresso. Is it still an Espresso Martini? I think if you get that hit of espresso it still resembles an Espresso Martini, if almost all components of the drink are changed but that key intention of the drink is met I believe it could still be considered an interpretation.
B&C: Tell us about Curious Bar’s all-Australian Negroni. What are the ingredients within the drink? Were you looking to create a drink using just Australian ingredients, or did you want to give this Negroni a distinctive Australian flavour?
SZ: The idea with an all Australian Negroni is definitely to make something where the ingredients have not travelled far to end up in the glass, but also to showcase the array of ingredients that we have in our backyard (native tincture), as well as the amazing producers that we are working with, Never Never, Adelaide hills and Maidenii.
B&C: What’s next for the Negroni? How can it keep evolving and keep being a consumer favourite?
SZ: To change the Negroni even more I would bring another element, citrus or a saline to bring the Umami, I love seeing bartenders play around with the textures of the drinks, Campari foams can layer the drink quite well.
B&C: Obviously gin has evolved hugely in recent years and we are seeing similar evolution happening in vermouth. Do some gins and/or vermouth just not work in a Negroni, what are some of the challenges around balancing the flavours of new botanicals with the other ingredients?
SZ: I think that’s the fun part! There has to be a gin out there for every vermouth. Seeing what comes out is always the most exciting part.
Entry to Curious at W Melbourne is via a secret laneway entrance on Market Street, with the bar offering eclectic music, creative cocktail concoctions and a moreish menu of share plates and small bites and, of course, some delightful Negronis.
