Bar Talk: Negroni week

Since 2013, “for one week in September, bar and restaurants will mix classic negronis and negroni variations for a great cause,” according to the official Negroni Week website. This year’s philanthropic drink week runs from Sept. 16-22 and is raising money for Slow Food — a global organization that works in a variety of ways to create fairer access to food and drink by securing cultural biodiversity, impacting decision makers around food cost, accessibility and production, and provide food education world-wide.

Participating (and donating) is as simple as going to one of the over 10,000 participating bars or restaurants around the world and ordering a drink off their unique Negroni week menus. A portion of the sales from each drink ordered during this week goes directly to Slow Food. And, according to negroniweek.com, in its past 11 years of existence, this classic cocktail has raised over $5 million for charitable causes.

It’s a fun way to not only educate the masses about a cocktail classic — equal parts dry gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth — but also provide a platform for bar programs to play with this iconic drink.

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So far this week, I have had the opportunity to donate three times to the cause — aka enjoy three very different negroni riffs.

The first was in Telluride at The National, a relatively new restaurant in a storied space from husband-wife hospitality team Chef Chris Thompson and Kate Thompson.

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In addition to two drinkable negroni variations, The National’s pastry chef also got in on the fun, offering a Campari ice cream sandwich (Campari is a main component of a negroni), complete with an orange sugar cookie, orange blossom ice cream, and a strawberry Campari swirl.

The National’s cold brew americano negroni pays homage to the cocktails purported origins — or at least one of the widely accepted stories. As the story goes, bartender Fosco Scarselli at Caffé Casoni in Florence, Italy, swapped the soda water for gin in the cocktail Americano by request of customer Count Negroni who wanted something stronger than the bitter liqueur, vermouth, and soda water that an Americano cocktail is built on.

The Nationals americano negroni is made with Campari, Vermouth Rosso, Costa Rican coffee, seltzer, and orange oil. It’s a balance of bitterness from the Campari, chocolaty smoothness from the coffee, and the floral scents and flavors of the orange oil, vermouth, and Campari.

Served in a collins glass, the drink was unique and potent, the bubbles from the soda water diffused from the mix of coffee and Campari, and I think best enjoyed with dessert.

The second National negroni creation was the Cherry Boulevardier: Rainier cherry, bourbon, house vermouth blend, and Campari. The boulevardier, another classic cocktail, is remarkably similar to a negroni, but it uses bourbon whiskey instead of gin.

Out of the two, the Cherry Boulevardier was my favorite. It was insanely smooth with little to no bitterness, cherry forward but not medicinal, well-balanced, and the perfect slow sipper to carry you through happy hour or the start of a meal.

If you’re looking for a place to celebrate locally, both the Limelight Aspen and Snowmass are participating in Negroni Week and are the only two Roaring Fork Valley establishments participating.

My third “negroni” of the week came from Limelight Aspen and was an unexpected blend of floral sake, Hendrick’s gin, Aperol, and apricot liqueur, cheekily named For Pete’s Sake.

The drink was an eye-catching orange, served in classic form in an old fashioned glass over a single big ice cube with a sliver of orange peel.

I’ll admit I was slightly skeptical of mixing four different alcohols, but the result was a delightfully distinctive cocktail. It was like drinking a floral dreamsicle negroni.

The drink has a rich mouthfeel that doesn’t linger, is very floral forward, smooth, and doesn’t have any bitter or medicinal notes that some people dislike about Aperol. The notes of apricot are subtle but there if you search for them, and it’s a fun use of sake in a mixed drink.

The For Pete’s Sake is only available at Limelight Aspen, while the Snowmass Limelight is serving up its exclusive Mary’s White Negroni, made with Woody Creek Mary’s gin, Cochi Americano, Campari, and a lemon twist.

If you can’t make it to either Limelight during this year’s Negroni Week or any of the other participating establishment (You can find all official venues on negroniweek.com), the Limelight has been kind enough to share their recipes with Bar Talk readers, so you can join the fun at home and try your hand and expanding on a classic.

Mary’s White Negroni

(Recipe Courtesy Limelight Snowmass’ Limelight Lounge)

1 oz. Woody Creek Mary’s Gin, 1 oz. Cochi Americano, 1 oz. Campari Lemon Twist

Glassware: Rocks Glass

Garnish: Lemon Twist

Method: Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice, stir, strain into a fresh glass over a large ice cube, and serve garnished with a lemon twist.

For Pete’s Sake

(Recipe Courtesy Limelight Aspen’s Limelight Lounge)

1 oz. Floral Sake, 1 oz. Hendricks Gin, .5 oz. Aperol, .5 oz. Apricot Liqueur

Glassware: Rocks Glass

Garnish: Expressed orange peel, flower petal

Method: Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice, stir, strain into a fresh glass over a large ice cube, and serve garnished with an expressed orange peel and a flower petal