negroni gin

[Ken Gargett]

not a big cocktail guy (used to be at uni).

my mates at four pillars sent me a bottle of their new negroni gin (and some other really exciting stuff but no spoilers). could not find any campari in the house - every spirit ever made and not a single bottle of campari - so did some research and came up with my own version (of the negroni, not campari).

if one works on a 1/3rd each of gin, campari and vermouth as normal, instead of that, i came up with a 1/3rd of rosso antico, a 1/3rd of this new gin, a few drops of lime juice, a few drops of balsamic vinegar and touch less than a 1/3rd verjuice (maggie beer's). and an ice cube or two. stir with a genuine hotel nacional swizzle stick.

dry, a little bitter, florals, citrus.

Just love it.

in a shameless plug for my mates at four pillars (and no one is more surprised that they can make gin this good than me, with the greatest respect to them), i include the info on the spiced negroni gin. great stuff.

a highly aromatic, rich and (yes) spicy gin with great power and intensity. First, we took our base botanicals and upped the amount of Tasmanian pepperberry leaf and cinnamon. Then we added an exotic West African spice called Grains of Paradise. This is one of the most unusual spices in the world, with clove and sichuan characters. But although very powerful, the spice tends to glow rather than become hot.

We also decided to use beautiful organic blood oranges in the botanical basket, as well as some ginger. These wonderfully fragrant fresh botanicals help lift the spice to another level. Finally, we opened up the plates to add weight and intensity to the gin.

[tmac77]

Nice Macgyver skills there Ken in concocting up your improvised campari. Although it would seem easier to me to simply make a short trip to the local store to get some.

[Strada]

I am actually on a big Negroni trip these days. I will keep an eye out for it although we probably won't have them at the SAQ for a long time... Thanks for the heads up Ken

[NJP]

It's Awesome stuff I'm with you Kenny. Looking forward to the new barrel aged idea, I miss it a the cellar door on the final weekend at Warrandyte.

[JohnS]

Good on you Ken. I couldn't imagine a Negroni without Campari but your substitution with Four Pillars gin sounds great!

[Ken Gargett]

Good on you Ken. I couldn't imagine a Negroni without Campari but your substitution with Four Pillars gin sounds great!

give it a crack. i was amazed. rob and i doing a video tomorrow. told him it was gin day.

oh, i miss the old rob. "make it very small and with an ice cube".

no - that will miss the point.

[Duxnutz]

Sounds tasty! Definitely gonna have to try your recipe Ken. I put a home made batch of Gin on oak last week I'm excited to try in a month or so. Definitely gonna experiment with the Shiraz blend version. That sounds like the shizzle.

[Bill Hayes]

I like the sound of that gin Ken. I have been enjoying negroni a bit of late as a transition drink after restaurant meals when drinking wine then wanting to move back to a few beers. Cheers. I also don't mind Amaro Montenegro on ice with a slice of orange.