Now, just in time for Negroni Week (16-24 September) we’re thrilled to announce that we’re adding barrel-aged negronis to the menu at all of our Cubitt House pubs, in collaboration with Symposium Spirits and Haymans Gin, which is distilled right here at a family-owned business in Balham. Available at all our pubs, just ask for more information at the bar.
And while your run-of-the-mill negroni is known for its strong, bitter taste, the barrel-aged update is smoother and more complex, emphasising the existing notes and fusing them with the flavour of the barrel. Think of it as a super-negroni.
The classic negroni ingredients are equal parts gin, vermouth and Campari. The origins of the drink, like most cocktails, are the stuff of legend. It all began at Caffè Casoni in Florence, when Count Camillo Negroni ordered an Americano made with gin instead of the usual soda water. Rather pleased with his invention, he decided to found a distillery, producing the first ready-to-drink version in 1919, called the Antico Negroni. The rest, as they say, is history.
Fast forward 25 years and the actor – and renowned drinker – Orson Welles was quoted as waxing lyrical about the cocktail, telling a local Italian newspaper while filming in Rome: “The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.”And so its popularity travelled overseas, to the USA.
And while we think the original is perfect, over the years, several bartenders have put their own twist on the drink – they are mixologists, after all. Firstly, there was the Negroni Sbagliato, (or the ‘mistaken negroni’) which uses Prosecco instead of gin (according to legend, this was an accidental discovery by a busy mixologist who grabbed the wrong bottle). Then there was the White Negroni, swapping out Campari and vermouth for Suze and Lillet Blanc – ideal for those who don’t like the bitterness of Campari. As cocktail ageing became a major mixology trend in the 2000s, the bartender and barrel-age enthusiast, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, created the barrel-aged negroni. Which leads us to our take.
So, what is a barrel-aged cocktail? Well, put simply, it’s a cocktail that’s aged in a barrel. The more time that a cocktail spends in a barrel, the longer it has to take on the flavours of the wood, in much the same way as wine does. For a negroni, the ageing process is usually fairly short – just one month – because of the depth of the flavours already present.
Our barrel-aged negronis have been aged in American White Oak Barrels, which tend to be stronger in flavour: think vanilla, coconut or cherry-cream soda. The oils in the wood tend to result in spirits with a slightly thicker, creamier texture, making them perfect for negronis. The American White Oak also adds more sweetness and spice to the drink, as well as more tannins, with the additional sugar adding weight to the alcohol so that it is stronger.
Book your table and come for a negroni at the bar before.
Book Your TableThe key to a great negroni is the balance of the ingredients, and how they compliment each other – after all, each one holds as much weight as the next, with an equal 1:1:1 serving.
After years of experimenting, we favour using Antica Formula Carpano sweet vermouth in ours, which we combine with our house pour, Hayman’s London Dry. In our opinion, it is strong enough to withstand the sweetness of the vermouth and the Campari. When you then add in the barrel-ageing to the mix, the result is a really flavourful negroni.
The boldness of the negroni calls for strong flavours, which is why we love serving ours with classic bar snacks like charcuterie, nuts, olives and bold cheeses. They also make for a great night-cap though alongside a dark chocolate dessert.
To recreate it at home, follow our simple recipe:
Cubitt House Barrel Aged Negroni
The ingredients we use are a crucial part of our negroni. Each stands as a third of the cocktail and each adds to the flavour, texture and balance of the drink.
1 part of Gin + 1 part of Red/ Sweet Vermouth + 1 part of bitter-sweet aperitivo (Campari).
The way we look at it is Body + Personality + Soul. The gin has to be able to carry the drink, choice of vermouth can determine how exciting the cocktail is and Campari is a must for the classic version, without it it’s like a ‘Feeling Good’ covered by Michael Buble, Muse, Avicii or even Lauryn Hill. But it’s not a liquid Nina Simone.
