It’s Negroni Week again, when participating bars all over the country donate a portion of each sale to charity, and people generally drink a lot of Negronis. The Negroni is a simple drink, equal parts dry gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. Its simplicity is probably key to its success, because it offers a template for endless experimentation. We created this Sherry Negroni recipe for Negroni Week with sweet Pedro Ximinez sherry in place of sweet vermouth, a simple swap that turns a sharp, intensely bitter drink into something dark and rich and luxuriant. – Andrew
Sherry Negroni Recipe
1 oz Dry Gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz Pedro Ximinez Sherry
Combine the gin, Campari, and Sherry in a mixing glass and stir well with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and drop in a big chunk of fresh ice. Garnish with a piece of orange peel and enjoy!
Pedro Ximinez – also affectionately called “PX” – is a Sherry, fortified wine made in the Jerez region of Spain. Unlike other Sherries, PX is made from grapes dried in the sun and, as a result, has a raisiny, sweet taste and a thick, syrupy texture. It works well in cocktails, adding rich sweetness and notes of dried fruit. It’s thick enough to use as a syrup in stirred drinks like the Old Fashioned.
Here, the PX Sherry does a pretty good job standing in for sweet vermouth, another fortified wine. It’s a little less complex than sweet vermouth, which is steeped with all sorts of spices and herbs, but the Sherry makes up for that simplicity in this Negroni by mellowing out the drink, taking the sharp edges off the dry gin and herbaceous, bitter Campari. This is still a Negroni, but darker and richer and a bit sweeter than usual, with a raisiny chewiness in place of the classic recipe’s bracing crispness.
So, if you haven’t already, go find a bar participating in Negroni Week and order a few Negronis, and then go mix up one of these at home.
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Glassware by Liquorary
Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper
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Lecture and visually perfect