What is Negroni Week?
Negroni week is an annual charity event where bars and restaurants feature an Italian cocktail known as the negroni. A portion of each negroni purchased will go to the charity of choice for each restaurant.
History of the Negroni
The Negroni is a very old cocktail that dates all the way back to 1919 in Florence Italy. Count Camillo Negroni concocted it by asking the bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to strengthen his favorite cocktail, the Americano, by adding gin rather than the normal soda water. The bartender also added an orange garnish rather than the typical lemon garnish of the Americano to signify that it was a different drink.
What is a negroni like?
A Negroni stands out as a very unique cocktail. Some even go so far as to say it is an acquired taste. If done correctly, the negroni features both sweet fruity flavors and bitter flavors similar to what you would see in an IPA. The beauty of a Negroni is that the flavors dont simply blend together, instead they play back and forth on your pallet changing from sweet and fruity to bitter over and over.
American Grocery's Selection: Negroni featuring Beyond Barrels
Award winning mixologist at American Grocery, Kirk Ingram, has 4 specially crafted negronis on the menu, but one is them is extra special. Kirk mixed equal parts Beefeater Gin, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, and Campari -- but that's not the secret to his recipe.
Kirk takes a Beyond Barrels Cherry stave, soaks it in a Bordeaux Red Wine for 1 week, chars it to a level 4 char over a real fire while it is still wet, and then ages the entire cocktail with that stave. In the same way that wood from a barrel transforms harsh burning moonshine into smooth bourbon, aging the Negroni on the Beyond Barrels Cherry Stave takes the cocktail to the next level.
Drop in to American Grocery to chat with Kirk about Negronis, wood aged cocktails, and mixology in general!