Cocktail recipes: how to make a perfect negroni

One part gin, one part vermouth rosso, one part Campari and then finished with an orange peel garnish.

Making a classic negroni cocktail may sound simple, but there’s many tips and tricks on how to perfect the tasty recipe.

Award-winning Italian bartenders from three of the Dorchester Collection’s top hotels and Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin have shared their secret recipes on how to make the perfect negroni. Saluti!

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Classic Negroni: Hotel Eden, Rome

For negroni lovers, you can’t get much better than ordering the classic cocktail at aperitivo hour from Hotel Eden’s Il Giardino bar in the heart of Rome. While we can’t give you a recipe for the panoramic views of the Eternal City from Il Giardino’s roof terrace, we can share the recipe for this classic cocktail courtesy of head barman Mirko Simonazzi.

Ingredients

• 30ml Campari bitter
• 30ml Antica Formula Carpano Vermouth
• 30ml Tanqueray Gin
• Orange zest to garnish

Glass

• Old Fashioned glass

Method

• Stir in a mixing glass over ice and double strain over fresh ice.

Golden Negroni: 45 Park Lane, London

Known in London for its negroni, the 45 Park Lane’s BAR 45 has its own Negroni Trolley – featuring the hotel’s barrel-aged negroni which also awaits hotel guests in their room upon arrival. Head bartender Francesco Orefici has added a number of twists on the classic recipe, including his Golden Negroni.

Ingredients

• 30ml of Botanist Gin
• 15ml of Italicus
• 15ml of Suze Liqueur
• 30ml of Martini Ambrato
• One lemon peel to garnish

Glass

• Stemless Burgundy glass

Method

• Pour the Botanist Gin, Italicus, Suze Liqueur and Martini Ambrato into the mixing glass filled up with ice cubes, and stir for eight to ten seconds with a long bar spoon (mixing spoon). Using a cocktail strainer, pour the chilled liquid into a stemless Burgundy glass over a large ice chunk, or a few cubes of ice depending on what you have. Squeeze the lemon peel over the cocktail, twist and let it drop into the glass.

Cent’anni Negroni: Hotel Principe di Savoia, Milan

In celebration of the classic Italian cocktail’s 100th anniversary last year, Milan’s Hotel Principe di Savoia created its own unique twist on the recipe, the Cent’anni Negroni. Bar manager Daniele Confalonieri takes us through the steps...

Ingredients

• 20ml Del Professore Red Vermouth
• 20ml Campari
• 10ml Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
• 20ml Fever Tree Ginger beer
• 1 teaspoon of Amaro Ramazzotti Il Premio
• Slice of dried orange to garnish

Glass

• Old Fashioned glass

Method

• Stir in a mixing glass filled with ice, and strain into glass over fresh ice.

Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin Negroni

Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin is triple distilled in traditional copper pot stills and handcrafted in the foothills of the Himalayas at one of India’s oldest distilleries. Jaisalmer has 11 botanicals, seven of which are sourced from the four corners of India.

Ingredients

• 25ml Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin
• 25ml sweet Vermouth
• 25ml Campari

Method

• Stir all the ingredients over ice in a rocks glass for around 20 seconds, until chilled. Top with ice and garnish with an orange peel twist.