Imbibe magazine, on negroniweek.com:

In 2013 Imbibe Magazine launched Negroni Week as a celebration of one of the world’s great cocktails and an effort to raise money for charitable causes around the world.

Since then, Negroni Week has grown from about 120 participating venues to thousands of venues around the world, and to date, the initiative has raised over $5 million for charitable organizations.

The charitable organization this year is Slow Food:

Slow Food is a global movement acting together to ensure good, clean and fair food for all.

We’re halfway through the week, but better late than never.

There are about 60 venues participating in San Francisco; you can search your area.

I’ve been celebrating Negroni Week since at least 2015, and while I don’t need an excuse to tip a Negroni—it’s my favorite “daily drinker” cocktail—I welcome the opportunity.

While I definitely enjoy a classic Negroni (a 1:1:1 ratio of gin, sweet vermouth, and a bitter apertivo, historically Campari—my current standard being Sipsmith London Dry Gin, Cocci Vermouth di Torino, and St. George Bruto Americano or recent fave Bordiga “Red Bitter”) my favorite “Negroni” is in fact a variant, the Boulevardier, which swaps out gin for Bourbon.

What I love about the Negroni is its versatility. There are an infinite number of gins, bitter aperitivos, and vermouths to explore, each imparting its own distinct flavor on the classic, plus adjustments in ratios as taste dictates.

Then consider the spirit swaps. Prosecco for gin: the suddenly everywhere Sbagliato. Rum instead: The Kingston Negroni. Dry vermouth instead of sweet: The Cardinale. Sub in Rye and dry vermouth: The Old Pal. And of course, the aforementioned Boulevardier’s Bourbon. The Negroni Week site has several recipes that are with trying.

A few years back I joined a Negroni club (through Bitters and Bottles in South San Francisco) so I’d have an excuse to explore a range of Negroni-inspired cocktails.

Any (reasonably priced) spirit that enters my home bar will eventually get the Negroni treatment as part of its evaluation. It’s an experimenter’s delight.