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Wayne Collins, this drink's creator, originally used equal parts as is usual for a classic Negroni and after trying various other formulations, I've found...
I'm sure it's sacrilege, but I occasionally switch out the Lillet Blanc for Italicus and then add some grapefruit bitters and a twist. It has more power to battle the bitterness of the Suze, and the result is exceptional and balanced.
Not sacrilege at all. A tasty cocktail. I've added to Difford's Guide as Walthall’s White Negroni, although please let me know if you'd like to rename. Many thanks for the suggestion.
I agree with a number of others here - reducing the Suze a tad makes the drink more balanced. So the ration became 1 gin/ 1 Cocchi Americano/ .75 Suze. I had no grapefruit twist but a dash of grapefruit bitters spread over 4 cocktails worked well.
Suze is superb but can take command of a cocktail. This is an excellent showcase for it but for the next round I will reduce the Suze slightly. Or maybe a dash of soda?
Whilst I've loved this over the years with Cocchi Americano, Beefeater, and Suze (and it's fantastic!) revisiting this with Lillet Blanc...aaah....it's perfect. By the way, have ya'''all tried the Five-Three-Five? Star.
Calvin, revisiting this with Kina L’aero d’or fully replacing the Lillet this evening. I enjoyed but def changes the flavour profile quite a bit- perhaps more suited to the cool weather here (yes, it does snow occasionally, tho rarely in town itself) - the syrupy sweetness of the Kina I thought worked well, without losing a nice hit of the bitter too.
I made this with Plymouth Navy Strength, Suze, and Cocchi Americano in equal parts. The gin really holds up here but it packs a punch! This is an excellent drink, both fruity, bitter, and earthy.
I've made this a few times over the 5 years, and this one take stands out. But it tastes like a bitter Sprite. What's your thoughts?... Equal parts: Monkey 47, Cocchi Americano, Salers.
Following the discussion with Chris brislawn on these pages, if you sub half the Lillet for Bonal or another available Kina you’ll get something much more pleasingly adult and bittersweet. On this occasion I went with Sipsmith 30, Suze 30 (haven’t been able to source salers for comparison) 15 each Lillet and bonal. Very satisfying digestif.
Revisiting with proper indigents. Very pleasant and, for my money, significantly less bittersweet than a regular negroni (I’m looking at you Campari 👀). Sampled the newly acquired bottle of Suze and found it very pleasant indeed. But then I had also just sampled Bonal also, which is generous on the bitter element, tho not outrageously.
Swapped the wine for noilly prat original ( for the sake of finishing the bottle ) Definitely a milder bitterness in comparison to the original spec but still is quite good. Gentian has really started growing on me.
Made it side by side one with Lillet Blanc and one with Cocchi Americano- the latter is definitively the right choice! Incorporates the Suze better and has overall a more negroni-feel. Lillet Blanc in contrast doesn't produce a rounded palate
Not sure that I like it in the 1:1:1 ratio but then the only 1:1 drink that's my favorite is the Last Word.
First time using Suze and it is thuggish...but I like the flavor. Neat vegital herbaceousness on the back end that you don't get with Campari. I look forward to playing with it.
Discovered this in a bar in Paris last year, & been drinking it ever since. Suze, memorably described by another subscriber as 'thuggish' is somewhat disarmed in this excellent cocktail.
Did a mini version with equal 25mL parts of four pillars navy gin, Cocchi Americano as the ‘amaro’ and dry vermouth, and a dash of orange bitters. Very pleasantly citrusy, herbal, fruity. Probably light on the bitter side for a as classic negroni, but refreshing and flavoursome.
I reinvented the wheel- constructed a negroni to suit my tastes - 45 gin, 30 Lillet, 15 Campari- then checked Difford’s and here it is! Used Sipsmith and very happy with the sweet/sour/fruity/herbal balance 😇.
Like a Negroni and variants - thought I would like this.
Didn’t enjoy this ratio.
Gave It another go with different ratios slightly different ingredients.
45 mls Roku Gin
30 mls Blanc Vermouth
20 mls Suze
Lemon Twist.
Found this a more appealing / enjoyable cocktail.
Lovely variant on a Negroni though I agree with John McTague the Suze can be overwhelming and have reduced it even more. So: 1.5 parts Gin, 1 part Lillet, 0.5 parts Gentian. I used the "mild" Bombay Sapphire Gin which needed the kick of 2 drops of celery bitters and 3 drops of grapefruit bitters (in lieu of fresh zest) - these transformed the drink miraculously. I felt like a Medieval alchemist! Otherwise, use Plymouth or the specified Celery Gin. Lovely drink!
Absolutely love this cocktail, in equal parts. I used Gordon's London dry gin, from which the juniper forward taste combines very well with the bittersweet notes of Suze and Lillet.
I made this today with Botanist gin, Salers gentian (red cap) and Lillet Blanc. I was not entirely happy with the results. The interplay of the Salers and Lillet sud not wirk out for my taste - I was missing some of the bracing bitterness I expect from a drink with Negroni in the name. I might tinker with the proportions a bit, or try the Negroni Bianco with Luxardo Bianco Bitters. Suze might make a difference but is currently unavailable in Virginia.
After first tasting without, I found the grapefruit zest absolutely necessary. For my taste Suze dominates the taste a bit too much (not because of the bitterness). I will reduce it next time to ¾ oz.
I'm about to add a variant of this recipe that was available at a now defunct restaurant called Prospect, on Fulton St in Fort Greene, Brooklyn: called the Polka Dot (cool name!), it uses blanc vermouth instead of lillet and (convenient) grapefruit bitters instead of the grapefruit garnish, and a garnish of luxardo cherry
I swapped out the Lillet for Mancino Sakura Vermouth and also found that even with Lillet that a lemon zest twist, expressed,
instead of grapefruit really elevates the drink.
I’m a wimp when it comes to Suze and Campari. I like Negronis with more vermouth and less bitter aperitif. Is there a professional term for this kind of build?
There’s a Classic Martinez recipe in the Cocktail Codex: 1.5 oz gin, 1.5 oz sweet vermouth, 1/4 oz Luxardo. I like these ratios substituting in blanc vermouth and Suze. I appreciate the bitterness but its a little heavy for me, one to one.
Not that I'm aware of but if there isn't such a term. There should be. A "Mellow Negroni" perhaps? I'm keen to add such a Negroni to this site - what's your preferred recipe?
Loved this with Suze. A must have in my bar like Triple Sec or Maraschino liqueur. Tried to get another bottle and I was told the distributer dropped it! Was only first able to get it a year ago or so. Here in Washington State we are at the mercy of the distributer Oligarchy. We can't even ship from out of state not to mention paying among the highest liquor taxes in USA. All I could find was a bottle of Salers Gentiane 16%. The resulting Negroni was more martini like. Still good.
Be thankful you don't live in Canada. We pay an even higher tax rate, and because of the government-owned monopoly, the only way we can get something the government hasn't approved is a special order, minimum of one case, and "guaranteed to be 4-5x the retail price". So Suze isn't even an option here. Even Salers isn't available.
I love this drink but I serve it in a very cold glass without any ice. Stirring it with ice is good but I don't want to dilute this beauty any more than that.