Recipe: Frozen Negroni

Mention a Negroni to me, and I’ll try to get out of whatever I’m doing and meet you for one. I’m not alone on this obsession; there’s even an entire week dedicated to this Italian classic cocktail. Equal parts gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth, the Negroni is a serious cocktail that carefully balances slightly sweet with boldly bitter.

A traditional Negroni is stirred and served either “up” in a chilled coupe or on the rocks, but I’ve decided to give it a springtime twist: Negroni, meet blender.

First up in this series of blended cocktails is the Negroni. It isn’t the tamest of cocktails in the first place, so I opted to add a little freshly squeezed blood orange juice to round out the flavor profile. Many times, when I’m making a frozen version of a cocktail, I will add just a little simple syrup or juice to bring balance. Simply blending heavier spirits with a lot of ice makes for an imbalanced frozen drink. Here, that little pop of sweetness from the fresh blood orange juice really ties the various components of a frozen drink together.

If you’re wondering which style of gin to use, opt for a dry gin with more pronounced, complementary citrus notes. I usually go for Tanqueray or Boodles. Both are London dry gins and are easy to find. Regarding sweet vermouth, either Carpano Antica Formula or La Quintinye Rouge is a good call; they’re both complex and not too sweet.