Today is Day 2 of Negroni Week, created by Imbibe Magazine (and sponsored by Campari):
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.
As it’s been for the past few years, this year’s charitable organization is Slow Food, which—
… envisions a world where everyone can enjoy food and beverage that is good for them, good for the people who produce it, and good for the planet.
I’ve been celebrating Negroni Week since at least 2015 (X/Twitter link). On Sunday, I kicked it off early—and quite coincidentally—with a Negroni history lesson and a tasting of nearly a dozen variations. More on that soon. Meanwhile, here are links to previous Negroni Week celebrations:
- 2015: Twitter 1, 2
- 2022: Twitter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- 2024: JAG’s Workshop, Mastodon
- 2025: JAG’s Workshop, Mastodon 1, 2
The Negroni, as you may have surmised, is one of my favorite cocktails. Its classic form of equal parts gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth is delightful, of course, but what I truly love is that you can use the Negroni as a template for building a variety of drinks that (more or less) follow its equal parts base spirit, bitter, and aromatic modifier structure. Swap the gin for bourbon: my personal favorite, the Boulevardier. Sub out the sweet vermouth for pandan liqueur? A Southeast Asian-inspired Pandan Negroni. Aperol instead of Campari? The lighter, sweeter Contessa. The variations are endless.
Cheers to a good week and a good cause.
