Citrusy White Negroni Cocktail Recipe

The classic Negroni cocktail has been around for more than a century – as in it just celebrated its 100th in 2019 – and it’s one of our favorite cocktails of ever.

The mix of equal parts of sweet red vermouth, Campari, and gin means it is a balance of sweet, bitter, and herbal. Translation: it’s an extremely food-friendly cocktail.

But even the best things are worthy of a riff every now and then. In the case of a Negroni one riff, we turn to often is the white Negroni.

Who Created The White Negroni?

The White Negroni was said to have been created by London mixologist, Wayne Collins, back in the early 2000s and he stirred together bitter Suze liqueur, the French aperitif Lillet, and gin. That version is a modern classic but we don’t find it to be particularly food-friendly.

Enter our take on the white Negroni made with dry white vermouth, Cocchi Bianco aperitif, and a London style (read: herbaceous and juniper-y) gin. The result is a cocktail that lives on the taste spectrum between a refreshing Gin & Tonic and a Vermouth & Soda.

Yes, those are both the go-to cocktails for tapas in Spain because they’re both very food-friendly. As such this cocktail is refreshing, balanced, and pretty much begging to be served with your next meal.

A Word About The Liquors

• Dry White Vermouth: An aromatic fortified wine made by infusing a grape spirit base with a host of aromatics like flowers, herbs, and bark, you’ll come across both dry and sweet vermouth. Dry vermouth (aka white vermouth) is less sweet than red (aka sweet) vermouth. We use Dolin White Vermouth in this cocktail.
• Cocchi Americano: Like a less intense and less bitter take on spirits like Campari yet more bitter than Lillet, Cocchi Americano is an aperitif wine made with quinine. In other words, it’s the key to providing the cocktail’s bitter note. If you can’t find it, you can use Lillet though the end cocktail will be a little less bitter and sweeter.
• London-Style Gin: Classically, you want to use a “dry gin” for a Negroni meaning a gin that doesn’t have any added flavorings above and beyond the natural botanicals used in distilling. We like the balanced Sipsmith brand London Dry Gin for this cocktail. 

Okay, that's it! Go stock up on all your bar essentials then head into the kitchen, make this, and share it with us by tagging @saltandwind and #swsociety on social!

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