Seven surprising twists on the negroni, Melbourne's cocktail of the moment

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

"Negronis are absolutely more popular," says Caretakers Cottage co-owner Rob Lebicans.

"Ten years ago, a negroni was such a hard sell, but now it's one in four of the off-menu drinks that we would make," he says.

The elegant cocktail, which originated in Milan, contains equal parts gin, vermouth and Campari. It is easily identifiable by its short glass, deep scarlet colour and bright twist of orange.

"It's the perfect representation of what a cocktail should be," says Italian-born Andrea Gualdi​, the creative beverage director at South Yarra cocktail bar Backroom.

"It's simple, easily replicated and it encourages a bit more social interaction around the bar."

Acclaimed bartender and co-owner of experimental Fitzroy bar PAR Tony Huang attributes its popularity to the increasing sophistication of Melbourne drinkers.

"Negronis have that bitterness to them and it's a strong flavour, but I feel like palates have evolved from when I started cocktail bartending more than 10 years ago," Huang says.

Growing demand for the cocktail has inspired greater experimentation behind the bar. For Negroni Week, a week-long international celebration of the cocktail to raise money for charity (September 12-18), participating venues will pour surprising riffs on the 100-year-old classic.

PAR's "neo-classic negroni" uses a cold-infusion technique to transform gin, Campari and vermouth into "a cocktail in wine format". That same method is used to concoct two limited-edition negronis: One pho pineapple ferment and the other with bitter chocolate and banana.

At Backroom, Gualdi has created a "negroni 2.0" by infusing St Remio coffee beans into the vermouth and cacao nibs into the Campari.

"The negroni is probably one of the most commonly twisted cocktails," Gualdi says. "But you can definitely take it too far."

Italian-American actor Stanley Tucci provides a memorable example of a negroni gone wrong. The internet watched with collective horror in 2020 as Tucci filmed himself shaking a negroni, garnishing it with lashings of fresh orange juice, and suggesting swapping the traditional gin for vodka.

Perhaps it's better left to the experts. Details: negroniweek.com

Melbourne bars and cafes getting creative with the negroni

Backroom

For creative beverage director Andrea Gualdi, it was important to stay true to the original composition. "It's like drinking a piece of history," he says. "It's part of my culture." He infused complementary flavours of chocolate and cacao into Campari and vermouth, allowing for greater depth of flavour without compromising the balance of three equal parts. "The bitterness of the Campari pairs so well with the flavours of coffee," Gualdi explains.

234 Toorak Road, South Yarra, ovolohotels.com/ovolo/south-yarra/backroom/

PAR

Donating $1 from every negroni to SCARF Refugee Support during Negroni Week

Combining cocktail and winemaking techniques, PAR's drinks are anything but cookie-cutter. Core spirits and liqueurs are cold-steeped with a key ingredient – perhaps raspberry, passionfruit or matcha – for up to three days. For the DNA, the bar's take on the negroni, the classic trinity is steeped with skin-on bananas. It sounds wacky but ends up creating something slightly more mellow than the traditional drink, according to co-owner Tony Huang. "People who don't normally like negronis like this. They find it's not as intense or bitter."

Shop 2, 360 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, parmelbourne.com

Her Bar

Donating $1 from every negroni to Breast Cancer Network Australia

The world is your negroni at this chic CBD bar and brasserie, which is offering three takes on the cocktail throughout September. Aside from the classic, there's the Damson Negroni, a variation using plum-infused gin from Ivanhoe distillery Imbue. Or try the Henriques Negroni, a perfect nightcap featuring a dash of chocolate bitters and Henriques & Henriques madeira's orange and hazelnut flavours.

270 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, her.melbourne

Caretaker's Cottage

The cocktail kings behind this (extremely) small bar love negronis so much, they always have a spot on their menu for something that's sweet, bitter and booze-forward. For the next fortnight, that something is the Blue Heeler. Gin is swapped out for Ocho's Tequila Plata, which brings an earthy, herbal note, while Marionette Nocino (a green walnut amaro) replaces Campari's bitter flavours. Cherry, sweet vermouth and Davidson plum are the finishing touches.

139-141 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, caretakerscottage.bar

Slim's Hot Pizza

Chocolate in a drink as boozy and bittersweet as a negroni could be a disaster. But in the right hands, it's a combo that's surprisingly delicious, especially if you love dark chocolate. At this new pizza bar in Mount Eliza, Campari is fat-washed with cocoa butter to kickstart the mingling of flavours, then the Campari is blended with cacao nibs ( fragments of the cacao bean). "That changes the texture of the Campari and makes it thicker and creamier," says co-owner and chef Simon Tarlington. Balcombe Coastal Gin and Maidenii sweet vermouth complete the drink. Chocolate in a negroni works, says Tarlington, because it's an extra level of bitterness. "It's not really a chocolate flavour; it's not sweet at all."

19 Ranelagh Drive, Mount Eliza, slimshotpizza.com.au

Industry Beans

Whether it's a boozy brunch, recovery breakfast or just because, a coffee negroni is always a smart order, especially if the coffee comes from one of Melbourne's best roasters. "The blend of our cold-brew coffee concentrate with the fruity, bittersweet flavours of a negroni creates a more rounded and full-bodied experience," says Trevor Simmons of Industry Beans. The drink has been one of its more popular coffee cocktails since launching in 2019. Try it with similarly bold flavours on the plate such as the porcini nest or chilli barramundi folded eggs.

Shop G043, 1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone, industrybeans.com

Arbory Bar

Donating $1 from every negroni to Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia

This riverside bar in the CBD takes care of both thrillseekers and purists. Sure, you can stick to a classic negroni, made with Bulldog gin and Cinzano Rosso, but why not walk on the wild side and see how the drink's Mexican cousin tastes? Don Julio blanco tequila is the hero of the Bitter Sweet. Meanwhile, the VS Negroni is all about – you guessed it – Hennessy VS cognac and all the rich, warming flavour that it brings.

1 Flinders Walk, Melbourne, arbory.com.au