That's the spirit: Australian twists on the classic negroni

The humble negroni has been a fixture on restaurant lists (and in the hands of many hospitality workers) for decades. There’s something about the combination of equal parts of aromatic gin, slightly bitter Campari and flavoursome vermouth that can be the perfect pre-dinner pick me up or the wind down after a long night (those digestive herbs from the vermouth help too).

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Because of the balance and simplicity of the cocktail, it’s the drink you order when you’re not quite sure what you feel like drinking – you can always hear calls across a bar of “Oh, I’m not sure … just… Get me a neg!” There’s one story that’s circulated for years (to the point it has become legend), about the time a group of sommeliers from all across the country were in Adelaide for an international wine conference and on the first night, drank a very well-known establishment out of both gin and Campari.

Given the thirst for a good negroni has never been quenched, it makes sense local bartenders have started experimenting with the winning formula. With a plethora of Australian-made gins, vermouths and bitter digestives now available, there are many pathways to make an ‘Aussie negroni’. The flavours may shift, but the balance is still essential.

Native Australian ingredients lend themselves beautifully to more savoury and aromatic styles of cocktails. Cape Byron Distillery’s Brookie’s Gin has locally sourced 17 of their 25 botanicals, many from the rainforest on their farm. In the Adelaide Hills, Applewood Distillery is using native riberry and Davidson plums in their Okar – a bittersweet Australian amaro that can go round for round with any bottle of Campari.

New ranges of vermouths, made with grapes and native botanicals are also appearing at wineries and cellar doors all across the country.

Some of the more memorable and original ‘Aussie negroni’ experimentations have come from restaurants. At the now closed Billy Kwong’s site in Potts Point, Kylie Kwong herself commissioned Victorian vermouth company Maidenii to craft two specific vermouths, using the same botanicals she cooked with at the restaurant. These were paired with Poor Tom’s gin from nearby Marrickville and garnished with a saltbush leaf and a dehydrated orange.

When Adelaide’s Orana came to Sydney for a month in 2019, they continued with a South Australian theme to make their version of a negroni. They used McLaren Vale distillery Never Never’s Triple Juniper gin and Adelaide’s Imperial Measure Distilling’s Ruby Bitter, made with ruby red grapefruit and rhubarb, as their Campari substitute.

At Fleet in Byron Bay, Australian flavour is underlined with a sharpie, by using Brookie’s Mac, a roasted macadamia and wattle-seed liqueur which scooped up a “world’s best” gong earlier this year, in place of vermouth in their Mac-Eroni. While fellow Byron-region restaurant Harvest Newrybar sells a takeaway Jar-Groni using Brookie’s gin, Okar amaro and Adelaide Hills Distillery’s Rosso Vermouth.

If you want to leave it to the experts, relaxed licensing rules around the country make it easier to buy pre-batched negronis as takeaways at restaurants, as well as on bottle shop shelves. Mona led the charge during quarantine earlier this year with their takeaway ‘Unholy Water’ double smoked negronis in miniature bottles, made using a recipe from last years’ Dark Mofo festival. While Adelaide Hills Distillery worked with with Lot. 100 to craft a fantastic 200ml takeaway Wattleseed negroni using their spirits and a wattleseed tea.

If you’re happy to do it yourself, Nick’s, White Possum and Only Bitters all sell full sized “all Australian” negroni packs, each with different local spirits, while Gintonica has a mini version. Or you could buy your ingredients separately.

Whatever you’re using, the trick to a negroni is using equal parts of all three ingredients. No measuring cup required. Pick anything: a shot glass, an egg cup – as long as the measures are even, you’re good to go.

The Newtown negroni

Created by Dylan and Jay from Fortunate Son Bar in Enmore, using brewery Young Henry’s new line of gins.

30ml Young Henry’s Barrel-Aged gin
30ml Poor Toms Imbroglio amaro
30ml Maidenii Dry vermouth

Stir all ingredients over ice and serve in a large rocks glass with a single large ice cube.

Garnish with healthy lemon zest.

Applewood ‘Aussie negroni’

Using three spirits crafted from native Australian botanicals, Brendan and Laura Carter’s ‘Aussie negroni’ gives the Italian classic a local twist.

30ml Applewood gin
30ml Okar
30ml Unico Yuzu vermouth

Stir all ingredients with ice and pour into a tumbler with a large cube (or sphere) of ice. Garnish with fresh yuzu or orange peel.