Negronis are shaping up as the cocktail of 2022 - and here’s where to find Sydney's most interesting versions

The negroni is shaping up as the cocktail of 2022 and its popularity has prompted a flood of variations in bars around Sydney.

"It's a drink that's taking the world by storm," says Dave Spanton, owner of Kings Cross aperitivo bar Piccolo.

"I think the success of the negroni lies in its simplicity. It's easy to make and there are so many ways to do twists on it."

An elegant cocktail containing equal parts gin, vermouth and Campari, a negroni is easily identifiable by its short glass, deep scarlet colour and bright twist of orange.

Jason Williams, beverage director at House Made Hospitality, which owns a string of Sydney venues, attributes the cocktail's popularity to drinkers' increasingly sophisticated palates.

"Over the past 20 years, Australians, much like the rest of the world, have started drinking more cocktails," he says. "It's caused their palates to evolve and they're ordering stronger, more bitter drinks."

"It's a drink that's taking the world by storm."

For Negroni Week (September 12-18), a week-long international celebration of the cocktail that raises money for charity, participating venues will serve up surprising riffs on the 100-year-old classic.

The breakfast negroni is a mainstay at Sydney bar PS40. Owner and bartender Michael Cheim says the idea came from a previous business partner, who used to finish long bartending shifts with a coffee, a slice of banana bread and a negroni from a nearby cafe.

They heat banana bread, coffee beans and tonka beans at low temperature with Campari, vermouth and gin to allow the flavours to infuse, then strain off the liquid, says Cheim.

"People are intrigued but also impressed. They can taste every single nuance of the banana bread and the coffee beans."

But Cheim says he's seen plenty of bartenders take experimentation too far.

"When you're messing around with a classic, you're playing with fire," he says. "It's always important to give it the respect it deserves."

Sydney bars and cafes getting creative with the negroni

Apollonia

Experimental negronis take centre stage at Apollonia. The Negroni Series features contributions from award-winning bars in Singapore, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Miami and New York. There's a chocolate banana mezcal negroni, a tequila negroni using cacao husk tea and a "beetnik" negroni infused with cinnamon and beetroot. "They're still negronis, but they're innovative culinary twists on the negroni," says House Made Hospitality beverage director Jason Williams.

5-7 Young Street Basement Level, Sydney, 02 7228 1400

PS40

The breakfast negroni has been a mainstay at PS40 for years. "When people try it for the first time, they can't believe how much they can really taste the banana bread," says owner and bartender Michael Cheim. "You can really get all of those flavours without eating them."

Skittle Lane, Sydney, ps40bar.com

Piccolo Bar

Dave Spanton, owner of Kings Cross aperitivo bar Piccolo, says a quality base spirit is the key to creating a non-traditional negroni. "We have a chocolate negroni, but you can still taste the vermouth and the Campari in equal measure." The tiny venue offers 10 riffs on the negroni, from the white negroni, made with Suze (a French aperitif), gin and cocchi Americano Bianco, to the espresso negroni with Mr Black coffee liqueur.

6 Roslyn Street, Potts Point, piccolobarkingscross.com.au

Double Deuce Lounge

Negroni Week has inspired four new takes on the classic cocktail at '70s bar Double Deuce Lounge. They've thrown out the rule book in favour of flavour with additions such as "The Enzo" (Hennessy, Campari, sweet vermouth and absinthe), "Never Never Gibson" (triple juniper gin, dry vermouth, manzanilla and pickled onions) and the "Straight Shooter" (X by Glenmorangie, Mr Black coffee liqueur, honey and orange bitters). $1 from all specials will be donated towards Women's and Girls' Emergency Centre, so you're raising your glass for a good cause.

6 Bridge Street, Sydney, doubledeucelounge.com

RE Bar

Sustainable South Eveleigh bar RE offers a gentle twist on the negroni, ideal for traditionalists. As part of owner Matt Whiley's zero-waste initiative, surplus radicchio is charred and transformed into a vermouth. It's paired with gin, Campari and blood orange for a bitter, boozy rendition.

Shop 8, 2 Locomotive Street, Eveleigh, wearere.com.au