The Negroni is three ingredients. It’s bitter, boozy, complicated, and it’s been one of the world’s most-ordered cocktails for longer than a century.
We’re treating you mice to the classic Negroni recipe, the best way to make one at home, and the history of the cocktail. We’re also introducing you to our own twist: a Strawberry Negroni, made with Mouse Kingdom Strawberry Balsamic Liqueur.
Negroni Recipe at a Glance
| Ratio | 1:1:1 (equal parts) |
| Ingredients | 30ml gin, 30ml Campari, 30ml sweet red vermouth |
| Method | Stir over ice in the glass |
| Glass | Old-fashioned (rocks) glass |
| Garnish | Orange slice or twist |
| Makes | 1 |
The Classic Negroni Recipe
Two trusted sources agree on the classic spec:
- Difford’s Guide: 1 fl oz each of London dry gin, Italian red bitter liqueur and rosso vermouth.
- IBA official: 30ml gin, 30ml Campari, 30ml sweet red vermouth.
Negroni ingredients
- 30ml London dry gin
- 30ml Campari
- 30ml sweet red vermouth
- Orange slice or twist, to garnish
- Plenty of ice
How to make a Negroni
- Pre-chill an old-fashioned glass, then fill it with ice.
- Pour the gin, Campari and vermouth straight into the glass.
- Stir gently until well chilled.
- Garnish with an orange slice, or express an orange twist over the top.
Negroni tips
- Stir, don’t shake. Difford’s is firm on this. A Negroni should be stirred, and mixing it right in the serving glass keeps things simple.
- Garnish with orange, not lemon. Difford’s is equally firm on this one.
- Taste and tweak. Equal parts is the standard, and Difford’s notes that it is the proportion most recipes use, but it’s a matter of taste. Add a little more vermouth for a softer drink or a little more Campari for a super bitter twist.
- Choose a dry gin. A London dry gin keeps the drink crisp.
What Does a Negroni Taste Like?
The Negroni is an acquired taste that you need to earn. An initial taste is extremely unlikely to be something you enjoy, but like most great things in life, the difficult things are often the best.
Negroni Ratio: Why Equal Parts?
The classic Negroni is one part gin, one part Campari and one part sweet vermouth. The balance is the point: bitter, sweet and strong, each keeping the others in check. It’s also easy to remember, which is part of why the drink spread so widely.
A Short History of the Negroni
The best-known story starts in Florence in 1919. Difford’s Guide tells it like this: Count Camillo Negroni, a regular at the Casoni bar on Via Tornabuoni, asked for a bit more kick in his Americano. Other customers began asking for “the Count’s drink”, and the name stuck.
In the usual telling, the bartender Fosco Scarselli swapped the soda for gin and garnished with orange instead of the Americano’s lemon, so the new drink looked different from the old one. The Americano itself is Campari and sweet vermouth with soda, and it descends from the Milano-Torino.
As ever with cocktail history, there’s massive debate and not authoritative history. David Wondrich has found that the Count’s title is questionable, although his grandfather did hold one. The bartender Luca Picchi, whose research backs the Florence story, points to a letter dated October 1920 that jokes about the Count’s Negroni habit, which suggests the drink was already around. (Merriam-Webster, Wikipedia)
Orson Welles gave it a famous review in 1947, noting that the bitters are good for you, the gin isn’t, and they cancel each other out.
Negroni Variations
Once you’ve got the classic down, there are plenty of riffs:
- Americano: the Negroni’s ancestor, made with Campari, sweet vermouth and soda. This is a delicous sessionable twist.
- Negroni Sbagliato: sparkling wine in place of gin, said to have been created by mistake at Bar Basso in Milan in the 1970s. Again, much more fresh and quaffable.
- Strawberry Negroni: our twist, below.
The Strawberry Negroni
Now for the twist. In a Negroni, sweet vermouth does a lot of the work. It’s an aromatised wine, so it brings sweetness, a touch of acidity and wine-like complex depth and flavour that softens the Campari.
Our Strawberry Balsamic Liqueur does something similar. It’s jammy and ripe, tastes like strawberry wine, and has 1% balsamic that adds a low, acidic note so it never tastes simply sweet. That dessert wine, almost vermouth-like character is why it sits so well between gin and Campari.
A few more reasons it works here:
- Lower sugar. Most big-brand liqueurs sit around 230 g/L of sugar. We aim much lower, so you decide how sweet your drink ends up. With a bitter negroni, this is key.
- Clean, smooth fruit. It’s made from strawberry juice, balsamic vinegar, UK wheat vodka and sugar. It’s vegan-friendly and gluten-free.
- 16% ABV, 70cl. That’s in the same ballpark as many sweet vermouths, so swapping it in doesn’t water the drink down.
Strawberry Negroni recipe
Makes 1 | Glass: pre-chilled old-fashioned glass, filled with ice
Ingredients
- 30ml dry gin
- 25ml Campari
- 25ml Mouse Kingdom Strawberry Balsamic Liqueur
- 10ml sweet red vermouth (but you can go ahead and add 35ml MK Strawberry Balsamic for a similar effect).
- Orange twist, to garnish.
Method
- Pre-chill your glass and fill it with ice.
- Pour the gin, Campari, strawberry liqueur and vermouth straight into the glass.
- Stir gently for about 20 to 30 seconds, until well chilled.
- Express an orange twist over the top and drop it in.
Tip: Want it more bitter? Add a splash more Campari. Want it softer and sweeter? Nudge the strawberry up by 10ml.
More Ways to Use Strawberry Balsamic Liqueur
Beyond the Negroni, it’s great in a spritz with soda or sparkling wine, and it can stand in for Aperol in an Aperol Spritz as an adult fruit liqueur with balanced sweetness. It also works in a Strawberry Margarita, a Strawberry Daiquiri, a Strawberry Caipirinha, a Strawberry Cosmo or a Strawberry Martini.
Negroni FAQs
What is in a Negroni? Gin, Campari (or another Italian red bitter) and sweet red vermouth, garnished with orange.
What is the Negroni ratio? Equal parts, 1:1:1. In practice that’s 30ml of each.
How do you make a Negroni? Pour the three ingredients into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice, stir gently, and garnish with orange.
Should a Negroni be shaken or stirred? Stirred, every time. Sorry Stanley Tucci, though you were excellent in the Devil Wears Prada.
What gin is best for a Negroni? A London dry gin is the usual choice.
What garnish goes on a Negroni? An orange twist.
Is a Negroni very bitter? For many people, yes. If that puts you off, try a Negroni Sbagliato or our Strawberry Negroni.
Can I make a Strawberry Negroni? Yes. Our version uses 25ml of Mouse Kingdom Strawberry Balsamic Liqueur in place of most of the vermouth.
Make Yours with Mouse Kingdom
A Negroni is only as good as its ingredients. Mouse Kingdom Strawberry Balsamic Liqueur is handmade in Manchester with real strawberry juice and a little balsamic, with less sugar and more character. Pick up a bottle and give your next Negroni a twist. For more, visit our recipes and news page.
Please drink responsibly. 18+ only.
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