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Comment by Jedd | Hacker News Reader

Regrettably I only properly discovered gin - via a Negroni - about 8 years ago.

Curiously TFA didn't dwell on advances & experiments in Australia, particularly the southern states, such as Tasmania, where there's been a some tremendous examples of the art.

Shene Poltergeist gin would bring into the fold even the most vehemently anti-g&t drinker. (Though mixing that with tonic would be a ghastly waste.)

Ophir (UK), St George Terroir (US), or Gin Mare (ES) are great places to start if you've historically just spurned the idea of gin.

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Do you have a preferred recipe for a Negroni? My partner and I have been having a hard time getting over the flavor of Campari.

We usually have Tanqueray in the house for G&Ts and Carpano in the house for Manhattans, but we've had no luck getting a drinkable Negroni.

To the uninitiated, I would describe Campari as having the flavor of burning tires. I don't mean that perjoratively, I just don't have a better description.

Or please feel free to inform me that our palates lack sufficient refinement :-D

A negroni is equal parts Campari, Vermouth and Gin. Varying the brand of Vermouth or Gin has the biggest impact. Subbing out Campari makes it another cocktail. Should be swapped out for another Amaro (Herbally Bitter Liquer) such as Cynar, Gran Clasico or Brut Americano (never Aperol, too sweet). I'm partial to using Cynar (pronounced chee-nahr) which I've heard be called a Sin-Cyn (sin-chin).

You can also try swapping the gin for whiskey to make a boulvadier and see if that more to your liking as well.

I've had mixed success subbing Montenegro Amaro or Fernet for Campari.

Very different flavors, though, and the type of "aromatized wine" (aka vermouth) will have an impact.

These are all truths to heed. I can also recommend the book Cocktail Codex[1] for anyone interested in learning more about making cocktails, it's a very interesting take on the subject.

[1]: https://www.amazon.com/dp/160774970X

It sounds like you don't like the bitterness of Campari and you're not alone in that. I guess it just takes time to develop the taste.

There are many delicious Negroni riffs, but the standard and classic is always equal parts gin/Campari/vermouth. I use a good London Dry gin (personal preference for Beefeater) and Carpano.

The nice thing about the Negroni framework is that you can substitute a huge number of different things into it; you can swap Aperol for the Campari if you want the same overall character with less bitterness, or Cynar if the bitter works for you but the citrus doesn't. Or most amari; in fact, a Negroni is a pretty decent way to use all the weird amari you'll find if you go looking for them. Negronis are super versatile.

They're too sweet in the equal-parts recipe; bump up the gin.

Carpano (at least Carpano Antica, which I think it their common vermouth) is also a very strong flavor. IMO if you're doing equal parts gin/campari/carpano you're totally obliterating the gin flavor.

For a classic and smoother negroni, try:

- 1.5oz gin (Tanqueray is fine, but I'd recommend Ford's)

- 1oz campari

- 1oz sweeter, less intense vermouth like Contratto Rossi or Dolin Rouge

If you want to use your Carpano, I really like this negroni variation called a Kingston that uses rum:

- 1.5oz Smith and Cross rum

- 1oz Campari

- 1oz Carpano Antica

Carpano is a good beginner vermouth if you're just getting into this, because it's so sweet and distinctive, but it's also a total overpowering vanilla bomb. Punt e Mes is in the same ballpark but less like drinking vanilla extract. Or just replace the vermouth entirely with Lillet or sherry.

A Negroni is 1:1:1, not 1.5:1:1

The original recipe is, sure. But part of the fun of cocktails is experimenting with what tastes you prefer. The parent said they weren't enjoying what they ended up with, so I'm recommending tweaks. A little extra gin is a pretty standard way to make the campari more palatable, used in plenty of bars.

Sure, but if you tweak the recipe it’s no longer the original drink and instead is something else. A Negroni is 1:1:1, that’s not the same as saying that’s the perfect balance

yes and the original manhattan recipe calls for equal parts vermouth and whiskey. you probably wouldn't want to drink it like that.

not only do people's tastes change over time, but so do the ingredients themselves. you can't necessarily buy the exact same gin, vermouth, and campari that was available to the count a hundred years ago. of the gins and vermouth available today, there is quite a range of diversity. you leave a lot on the table if you aren't willing to tweak ratios based on the ingredients you have.

Not a lot of bartenders would agree with you that 1:1:1 makes the best Negroni, even though it's the original recipe.

As others have noted, without the Campari it's technically not a negroni - and you can try Aperol (makes it a Contessa), or being more faithful you could try another bitters.

Here in AU some bars make a fully Australian negroni, using local equivalents.

(Otherwise Most bars will use Cinzano as the default vermouth -- it's acceptable, but nothing special.)

Domestic versions of vermouth exist, eg. Margan in Broke, NSW make some delicious dry and sweet vermouths. Not common, though.

Same for bitters - there's the confusingly named 'The Italian', from the Adelaide Hills (South Australia) distillery, which is a magnificent take on bitters.

I'd suggest looking around for some imaginative variations local to your area, as there's a lot going on with these types of drinks lately (as per TFA). Great news for the sophisticated addict.

Or maybe go for some variations -- in addition to a Contessa (too sweet for me) you can look at the Hanky Panky, which is a delicious cocktail, and worth ordering just for the name.

If you're interested in trying Campari in other settings in order to acquire a taste for it, I would suggest trying a Jasmine: http://drinkboy.com/Cocktails/Recipe.aspx?itemid=88

I STRONGLY suggest doing it "built". 1/2oz Aperol, 1oz sweet vermouth, and 1.5oz gin. Aperol is a sweeter version of Campari that when used less of, really brings the gin more to the front of the drink

Dilute with extra gin.

Standard Negroni is 1:1:1 and by far the best. Occasionally I’ll get one at a bar that I can tell is a different ratio and it’s so much worse.

Try Aperol instead.

I prefer St. George Botanivore, but I respect Terroir.

Also, Monkey 47 and Nolets for particularly floral gin. M47 is pricey, Nolets is almost as good for about half the price.

I've only tried the Terroir, but heard there's three in the 'range'?

In Australia we're spoiled for variety with local products, but I'm guessing because of the pain of doing so, only the larger foreign distilleries export over to Australia, and presumably not their full ranges of spirits.

Will keep an eye out for Botanivore, in any case, as I'm quite taken with the Terroir.

The other one is a rye aged gin. Obviously, it has a bit more of a whiskey tone, but it is good as well.

Cool, thanks for the heads up. I've got an order in for the Botanica (a few places seem to have that, happily).

Looks like only one Australian stockist for the Dry Rye, and they're out of stock. It's on my backlog list now.

Botanist when you want ALL the favlors. And as a bonus it's 96 proof, too.

I'll know in a few days, but it sounds like this may be the North American equivalent of the Poltergeist Unfiltered (out of Tasmania, Australia) -- which keeps winning Golds (or better) in global gin awards / competitions.

'All the flavours' is a great description -- it's not a muddle of competing flavours, it's just really a very busy (and terribly pleasant) combination.

Can confirm.

St George Botanica is tremendously good.

If you enjoy that, and want something just like it but even more so -- hunt down a bottle of the Poltergeist Unfiltered, and thank me later.

I'd suggest the Botanica is on a par, quality and complexity wise, with the Poltergeist 'True Spirit'.

Putting in a plug for Brooklyn Gin. It's turned my entire Southern bourbon-swilling family into gin drinkers. It's small-batch gin distilled in, well, you guessed it. http://www.brooklyngin.com/

All good suggestions. Also – the Martinez cocktail is another great initiation to gin, and my favorite of all cocktails. It's my goto benchmark drink as well, I've never been to a good bar that messed up my Martinez.

+1 for Terroir

Delightful gin right there.

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