# The SBHonline Community Daily > Restaurants Wine & Food Off The Island >  >  Negronis from David Lebovitz.

## katva

I love his blog!   http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2013/09...mouth-campari/ 

*Negroni*0 comments - 09.17.2013

Whew! It feels good to be back. I go caught up on a whole bunch of stuff. But boy, do I need a drink. Good thing I have this barrel of Negronis on hand. I featured my rotund wooden beauty in a recent newsletter, although I was concerned about mentioning my Negronis on social media because I often get in trouble with auto-corrected text. But theres nothing to clean up after a few Negronis except perhaps you, and your guests. 
I am in love with my barrel and was delighted when a friend in Paris saw it in my newsletter and called right away to tell me she had an old barrel holding up a bookshelf in her house, and brought it by as a gift the other day. However when I filled the it with water, it became what is probably the first indoor water sprinkler, with water spraying everywhere from between the bulging staves. So Im glad to have a pro model to fall back on.

Still, on delivery day, I returned the favor by offering her a Negroni, which my friends, family, neighbors, and probably even the delivery people around here are going to start lining up for. That, my folks, is what happens when you have barrels are cocktails on tap. *Negronis* are high-test drinks, composed only of alcohol with just a few ice cubes to dilute the madness. Ive been thinking about cocktails a lot lately. And not just because I just realized that Im not really well-equipped at handling, well  anything, lately. Hence the need for the break.

But also because mixing cocktails is like making pastries; there is a certain balance of flavors and ingredients. And once you hit that, all is good with the world. Negronis have their fans, and Ive become one too, because the Negroni is perhaps the simplest cocktail to make and theres no need to remember a list of ingredients or measurements; its just 1:1:1.
And its the perfect cocktail to roll out your barrel for. My beauty is from Plantation Rum, and is on loan from Candelaria, which I hauled home through the streets of Paris and apparently is not quite a usual sight around town. At least judging from the stares I got. And almost as soon as I got it safely inside my front door and into my kitchen, I poured my three bottles of liquor into the barrel a couple, then waited a few months to start letting the drinks trickle out, tasting hourly daily, to check the results. 

The verdict? Delicious. And potent. Proceed with caution. 
*Negronis*
I used Campari, Punt e Mes (sweet vermouth) and Citadelle gin. But when I was at a local liquor store, the woman showed me some variations on these, such as a bitters made by Dolin that is a bit more subtle than Campari. So feel free to use brands that you like.

One part CampariOne part ginOne part sweet vermouthoptional: a dash of bitters (such as orange or creole)orange peel
1. Mix Campari, gin, and vermouth into a cedar barrel and let age for a couple of months, or simply mix the three ingredients in a short cocktail glass adding a dash of bitters, if you wish. (If using a barrel, Id add the bitters just before serving.)
2. Add ice to the drink(s) and a strip of orange peel.

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## andynap

Had my first Negroni at Blackfish in Truro. A little bitter for my taste.

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## JEK

Much better with Aperol than Campari, IMO. Also, much better with Antica Formula vermouth. Hold the bitters too  :cool:

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## andynap

Now that I would drink. No pieces of pear either.

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## Petri

Meanwhile..

jeremy.jpg

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## Dennis

> Much better with Aperol than Campari, IMO. Also, much better with Antica Formula vermouth. Hold the bitters too



Not my recipe but I'm hoping to have one custom made soon.

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## JEK

Yours will have smokey Bombay gin.

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## katva

> Much better with Aperol than Campari, IMO. Also, much better with Antica Formula vermouth. Hold the bitters too



but do you have a wooden keg? :cool:   My love for Campari began many, many years ago here, at the Schlosshotel Igls

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## JEK

Only for Manhattans.

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## marybeth

Randy had a Boulevardier this weekend at a cocktail place we discovered walking around Lawrenceville.  Bourbon instead of gin, maybe his new go-to drink...

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## jeffbg

> Much better with Aperol than Campari, IMO. Also, much better with Antica Formula vermouth. Hold the bitters too



Gran Classico instead of Campari is fantastic too!

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## Dennis

> Gran Classico instead of Campari is fantastic too!



 :thumb up:

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## JEK

> Gran Classico instead of Campari is fantastic too!



 Yes indeed!

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## cassidain

> Much better with Aperol than Campari, IMO. Also, much better with Antica Formula vermouth. Hold the bitters too



Tried your substitution last night (Aperol for Campari). Much better with Campari than Aperol, IMHO.

De gustibus non est disputandum...I guess.

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## cassidain

> A little bitter for my taste.



And, you call yourself Italian.  :cool:

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## JEK

He probably doesn't like Campari and soda either.

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## andynap

> And, you call yourself Italian.



It was the bitters not the Campari and I am American of Italian descent.

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## JEK

No bitters in a real Negroni.

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## katva

When my dad orders a martini, and the waiter/bartender asks how he likes it made......well......his answer is that there is only ONE  way to make a real Martini. And that statement is made with a look and a wit that will slice a person in half.  Serious sh** those cocktails---- everyone has an opinion  :cool:

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## JEK

Gin is the only way to make a martini. And a full cap of vermouth in 4 oz. Of gin. IMO.

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## katva

Yep. Gin it is. Vermouth gets waived over the top of the glass. 2 olives. Neat. I learned early. Lol.

i made " chocolate martinis" last Christmas.  That didn't go over well....

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## JEK

I used to be a very little vermouth, but I now like to taste it more.

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## katva

I've had a bottle of vermouth for years, for when my parents visit.  Does it go bad?  This one is probably 8 years old, and mostly full.

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## JEK

Very bad very fast. Needs to be refrigerated after opening.

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## katva

!!!!  Oh!  Ok, so in the trash it goes. Sheesh. Glad I asked! Yikes.

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## KevinS

Having an open bottle of Vermouth in the same room isn't enough???

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## katva

My parents travel with their own mini bar, so I haven't used or even opened that bottle since Thanksgiving 2006, I think...

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## andynap

Most people don't realize Vermouth is wine and spoils if not taken care of.

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## katva

> Having an open bottle of Vermouth in the same room isn't enough???



That's about it, Kevin.  But a bottle, sans cap, gets waived over the glass. My mom takes a splash. A very small splash.

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## JEK

One reason people don't like it in martinis is that they are using old, sad and bad vermouth.

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## katva

> Most people don't realize Vermouth is wine and spoils if not taken care of.



I had no idea!

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## JEK

> My parents travel with their own mini bar, so I haven't used or even opened that bottle since Thanksgiving 2006, I think...



Still bad -- buy the smallest bottle possible.

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## katva

> One reason people don't like it in martinis is that they are using old, sad and bad vermouth.



Next time I go to the liquor store, I'm going to see if they have small/tiny bottles. That would help!

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## JEK

Fortified wines, like port are different due to high alcohol levels.

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