The story
As the story is usually told, around 1919 Count Camillo Negroni asked the bartender at Caffè Casoni, on Via de’ Tornabuoni in the center of Florence, to strengthen his usual Americano by swapping the soda water for gin. The bartender, Fosco Scarselli, added an orange slice instead of the Americano’s lemon to mark the difference, and the drink took the count’s name.
The classic recipe
Equal parts gin, Campari and sweet red vermouth, stirred over ice and served on the rocks with a slice or twist of orange. The equal measures are what make it easy to remember and hard to perfect: the balance depends on the gin, the vermouth and the ice.
Variations worth knowing
The Americano is the original, with soda instead of gin. The Negroni Sbagliato, the “mistaken” Negroni from Milan, uses sparkling wine in place of gin. Swap the gin for mezcal and you get a smokier, earthier drink, a favorite with mezcal lovers.
Where the story happened
Via de’ Tornabuoni, Florence’s smartest shopping street, is about 14 minutes on foot from San Frediano: cross Ponte Santa Trinita and you are on it. The café has changed hands and names since 1919, but the street is still where the Negroni story is set.
A Negroni in the Oltrarno
At Mysterium the back bar leans toward gin and mezcal, so ask for a Negroni the classic way or with mezcal. We are open from 6 pm, the hour the drink was made for. See the cocktails.
