Tuesday's Timeless Tipple: Negroni

The Negroni is one of the true classic cocktails that, among its fans especially, will never lose its appeal - a well-made Negroni is one of the truly great drinks of all time. The story of the Negroni began in Florence, Italy in the 1920's. As the story goes on Count Cammillo Negroni ordered the popular Americano with gin and the drink was born.

The key to the Negroni is, of course, Campari, an Italian aperitif that takes some getting used to but can easily get almost anyone hooked after 3 or 4 good drinks. However, in this case the real question is what gin to use. Personally I prefer to offset the dryness of Campari with a not-so-dry gin and some of the newer boutique gins are absolutely perfect. One of my favorites is Tru2 Organic because of the rich complexity of the botanicals and I've also found that the smooth and robust Damrak Gin is a great Negroni candidate. If you're on a budget the new New Amsterdam Straight Gin is also an excellent choice. However you choose to accent the Negroni, it is the season of more formal dinner entertaining and there are few drinks more appropriate than this to serve before a meal.