Figroni!

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It’s no secret that fall is my favorite season. We are still a few weeks away from cozy sweaters, but the “official” arrival of the season has me feeling inspired. And to make things even more fun, this also Negroni Week, a fundraiser that benefits the Slow Food Movement, a cause that aims to make the world a better place with a focus on sustainability, equity and education around food and drink. Savvy bartenders get excited about Negroni Week because it gives them reason to flex their creativity with the classic Italian cocktail that is the event’s namesake.

If I had my own bar— and believe me, I’ve pondered it— this is the twist I would serve for Negroni Week. Traditionally, a Negroni is an equal parts drink made with dry gin, sweet vermouth and Campari, the red bitter liqueur that makes Italy proud. Mine is all of that, plus an easy infusion of sweet, earthy fig.

The lighter variety of fig helps keep the Negroni color true.

These flavors feel so right for fall, layered and complex, leaning more toward slow savoring than refreshment. This drink fits right in with cooler temperatures, gentle breezes and the first few leaves making their annual drift toward the ground. It makes me long for sweaters and cozy socks and conversation around our Solo stove. Negroni is delicious with cured meats, cheeses and olive trays, so this one gets high marks as a cocktail for casual entertaining.

To maximize the fig flavor, I chose to infuse with dried figs rather than fresh. The drying process leaves a concentrated sweetness and intensity behind, and soaking the figs in sweet vermouth pulls that flavor into the spirit without watering it down.

The giant Costco bag of figs always seems like a good idea at the time! 😂

Why infuse the vermouth?

My decision to infuse the vermouth rather than the gin or Campari was quite intentional. Gin is the highest proof spirit of Negroni and I didn’t want to mess with that. I also knew that some of the booze would soak into the figs that I would repurpose— most likely in a bread pudding— and I couldn’t wrap my mind around the thought of Campari-stained figs, so the vermouth won out by elimination. It also bears mentioning that I wanted to try the fig-infused vermouth in a Manhattan, too; alas, I used it all up in my Negronis, so I’ll have to make more. Had I realized how much the figs would soak up the vermouth, I’d have made a double batch! Let this be a lesson to you.

I snipped the figs into smaller pieces for maximum infusion.
Straining through a coffee filter was near-impossible, so I shifted to a fine mesh strainer.

All things being equal

Negroni is one of the simplest cocktails to make because it is equal parts of only three ingredients, plus an orange slice. This means, no math! If you want a small drink, use 3/4 of an ounce of each— gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. For a longer sip, go for a full ounce of each. Living abroad where ounces aren’t a thing? Use whatever measure makes sense to you, and make it the same for all three ingredients. Simple is good.

That Negroni color!!!

A classic Negroni is made directly in the glass, but I like a little dilution on mine to wake up the nuances of the booze. Plus, the dried figs have turned my vermouth into a thin syrup and I want to be sure it mixes well, so my ingredients went into a cocktail mixing glass with a large cupful of ice. You could use a shaker, I suppose, but don’t actually shake it; just pour it back and forth with ice a couple of times. Strain it over a giant ice cube and garnish with a juicy orange slice.

Always remember to garnish!

Would I make another round?

Absolutely! I found this cocktail to be a real charmer that has lingered in my mind long after the fig-infused vermouth ran dry. If you already like Negronis, you’ll love it. If you’re on the fence or you typically find Negronis to be harsh, I can confirm that the figs soften those bitter edges in a pleasant way. Fig also happens to pair very well with orange, so the classic orange garnish is right at home. You may notice that I also used Tanqueray 10 for this cocktail; it’s distilled with tons of citrus, and that’s working great here.

If you’re into Negronis, I hope you’ll seek out a bar or restaurant in your area that is supporting Negroni Week, going on through Saturday. If not, then encourage your favorite watering hole to participate next year, and at least take a moment to learn more about the Slow Food Movement, which benefits us all, cocktail or no cocktail.

Cheers!

Figroni

  • Servings: 1 cocktail
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Sweet, earthy figs lend their flavor to one of the most classic apertivo cocktails, making this a fun twist for Negroni Week.


Ingredients

  • 1 oz. citrus-forward gin, such as Tanqueray Ten
  • 1 oz. Campari
  • 1 oz. fig-infused sweet vermouth (details below)
  • Stir all together and garnish with an orange slice

Fig-infused vermouth is simple to make. Plan ahead, as you’ll need at least 24 hours ahead to infuse the vermouth.

Directions

  1. Cut up about two cups worth of dried figs (mine were Smyrna figs, which are light in color) into a medium bowl, and pour enough sweet vermouth to fully cover them. This should be a little over one cup.
  2. Let them rest at room temperature a few hours or overnight before stirring and transferring to the refrigerator for 24 hours.
  3. Strain out the solids through a fine mesh strainer and transfer to a bottle. This will keep in the fridge for two weeks, and should make enough for at least four cocktails. Save the vermouth-soaked figs for another use, such as bread pudding or quick bread.

Cinnamon Espresso Negroni

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If your social media feeds are flooded with Negroni cocktails lately, there’s good reason. It’s “Negroni Week,” an event launched in 2013 by Imbibe (print and online) magazine and Campari as a means to spotlight a worldwide sustainable food movement called Slow Food. This program has an ambitious but very noble goal of ensuring “good, clean and fair food” for all human beings everywhere. I’m all for feeding people good food, but let’s explore how a cocktail benefits this cause. The organizers pitched an idea to the hospitality industry— register your venue with the Negroni Week site, and share a percentage of Negroni sales to benefit the Slow Food movement. That might not seem like much but to date, they’ve raised more than $5 million, so it’s working!

You can learn more about Slow Food here: https://www.slowfood.com/, and find a participating Negroni Week venue near you here: https://www.negroniweek.com/find/. If you can’t find a local bar that’s taking part in the annual event, why not donate to a similar cause close to home and make the cocktail (or some version of it) yourself? I’ll show you how.

What exactly is a Negroni?

The Negroni cocktail— invented in 1919 in Italy— is traditionally considered to be an “equal parts” drink with dry gin, sweet vermouth and Campari, the bright red Italian bitter aperitivo. The components are stirred with ice and then the drink is garnished with a juicy slice of fresh orange. It is both refreshing and appetite-stirring, sophisticated yet bold and gutsy.

My first introduction to Negroni came only a few years ago (during Covid, probably), and it took me a while to consider making this drink at home. I didn’t want to drop big bucks on a bottle of Campari unless I was fully committed. The Negroni is what I call a “strong drink”— it’s literally all booze— and if you can’t handle bitter, you definitely don’t want one. But there is something that really works about combining these spirits, and now that I’ve acclimated to it, I cannot refuse a Negroni.

Of course, me being me, I have joined the throng of amateur and pro mixologists on a mission for new ways to twist up this classic. There are already several notable riffs out there, including many that swap the gin for various other base spirits, including bourbon, rum and tequila. I enjoyed a particularly good Negroni variation that subbed Spanish sherry for the vermouth and Cynar for the Campari when we visited Cúrate in Asheville, North Carolina. I can still taste it in my mind. It was so good.

The base personality of a Negroni is the botanicals and bitterness— if these are not your thing, stick with a vodka martini or an old fashioned. But if you do happen to enjoy an adventurous, spirit-forward cocktail that whets the appetite before dinner, I propose my take on this lovely libation for Negroni Week 2024. Cheers!

Cinnamon Espresso Negroni

The color and aroma of this drink are really special!

My version includes a couple of twists, including addition of cold brew coffee liqueur. I split the Campari element of the drink 50/50 with the coffee-flavored spirit I like best, Mr. Black. Yes, you could use Kahlua, Tia Maria or Grind Double Espresso liqueur, but I find all of these rum-based spirits to be too sweet for Negroni. Mr. Black is a vodka base, so the emphasis is on the coffee. I had to search for months to find it because our state-run liquor stores are pitifully limited in inventory, but it was worth the wait. I also happen to like Mr. Black in an espresso martini, which I am still working on and will share when I get there.

Ford’s is my house brand of gin. Any London dry is suitable for Negroni, so use your favorite.

The cinnamon enters the mixing glass in the form of an infusion in the sweet vermouth, and this requires a bit of advance preparation. I added a ceylon cinnamon stick to the vermouth in a small bottle and gave it a day and a half before straining out the cinnamon and filtering the vermouth back into the bottle.

Ceylon cinnamon is more aromatic than cassia varieties, but also delicate in structure.
I used a whole stick of it to infuse my vermouth.
36 hours later, I strained out the solids.

The cinnamon lends a delightful warmth to the vermouth that spices up my Espresso Negroni in the best possible way, and I cannot wait to try this in a Manhattan. My vermouth brand is Martini & Rossi Riserva Speciale Rubino. I’m willing to pay a bit more for the spicy richness and deep ruby red color of this premium vermouth. I panicked last year when our Total Wine stores stopped carrying this product, and then I remembered— it’s a fortified wine, legal in my state for online purchase. Sure enough, I hit the buy-it button on the M & R website and had two bottles shipped directly to my door within days. Thank you, internet! If you already have a favorite sweet vermouth, I’m sure it’ll be just fine.

Campari is what it is, and frankly, there is no true substitute. It is bright red, bitter and complex. Don’t be fooled by other spirits that cost less and claim to be the same— they’re not. If a Negroni riff calls for something else, then the substitute probably works with the other ingredients. But if you love the classics, or if you’re trying a Negroni for the first time, Campari is the right stuff. Also, because Campari is a presenting sponsor of Negroni Week, your purchase will help the sustainable food cause in a secondary way, even if you don’t find a bar participating in Negroni Week.

How to Make a Negroni

My other red vermouths are not this gorgeous.
The Mr. Black even looks like coffee!
Mixing ice goes into the glass last.
Stir until the glass is frosty.
I use TrueCubes mold for crystal clear cocktail ice.
Remember the garnish! 😉

The traditional way to make a Negroni is to build it directly in the glass over ice, but that’s not how I like to do it at home because I prefer equal dilution of the ingredients. Here’s what I mean— let’s say you start by pouring the gin first; it’s generally room temperature and it’s going to start melting the ice immediately. If the vermouth goes in next, and the Campari at the end, both are going to be less diluted than the gin because the total contents of the glass are already cold.

Mixing the ingredients in the glass and then adding the ice doesn’t work for me either, because my giant ice cube will melt at the bottom, creating a weird, top-heavy shape. So what’s the solution? My go-to method is to add the ingredients to a mixing glass first, then add a bunch of ice to chill the whole thing down quickly. Give it a gentle stir for about 30 seconds, or until the outside of the mixing glass is nice and frosty. Then strain it over a big cube of clear ice for a perfectly diluted, evenly chilled cocktail.

Cinnamon Espresso Negroni

  • Servings: 1 cocktail
  • Difficulty: Average
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For Negroni Week, I am sharing my own favorite variation including espresso liqueur and my favorite autumn spice. Infusing the sweet vermouth with cinnamon lends a warm, familiar flavor to the classic Italian cocktail.


Ingredients

  • 1 oz. London dry gin
  • 1 oz. cinnamon-infused sweet vermouth (recipe below)
  • 1/2 oz. Campari
  • 1/2 oz. Mr. Black cold brew coffee liqueur (see notes for substitution ideas)
  • 1 cup ice
  • Orange slice for garnish

Notes: If you cannot find Mr. Black liqueur, you may substitute another coffee liqueur, but note that most of them are sweeter and this will change the outcome of the drink. My suggestion would be to sub in an equal measure of cold brew concentrate, which you can find in the coffee aisle of the supermarket.

Directions

  1. Add gin, vermouth, Campari and coffee liqueur to a cocktail mixing glass. Add a generous amount of cracked ice and stir about 30 seconds for proper dilution and chilling.
  2. Strain over a large, clear ice cube into a double rocks glass. Garnish with the orange slice.

For the cinnamon-infused sweet vermouth: measure out six ounces of vermouth into a mixing bottle or clean jar. Add a 3-inch piece of whole cinnamon stick and infuse 24 to 36 hours in the refrigerator (where vermouth should live anyway). Strain out the cinnamon stick and any lingering shreds through a coffee filter-lined mesh strainer; return the vermouth to the bottle or jar and keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. This will be enough for six Negroni cocktails.