What is the official Negroni recipe?

The IBA recipe is three equal parts: 30 ml gin, 30 ml Campari and 30 ml sweet red vermouth, served in an old fashioned glass over ice and garnished with half an orange slice.

Where was the Negroni invented?

In Florence, in 1919, at Caffè Casoni. Bartender Fosco Scarselli made it for Count Camillo Negroni, who asked to strengthen his Americano by replacing the soda with gin.

What is the difference between a Negroni and an Americano?

An Americano is made with Campari, sweet vermouth and soda water. The Negroni grew out of the Americano by swapping the soda for gin: same bitter base, much bolder structure.

Negroni: history, IBA recipe and why it still works

The Negroni is one of those cocktails that looks simple and isn’t. Three ingredients, equal parts, nothing to shake — yet it’s one of the most loved drinks in the world’s best bars. The difference is in the products, the ice and the hand that builds it.

A story that starts in Florence, 1919

The legend — now backed by official sources — goes that in 1919, at Caffè Casoni in Florence, bartender Fosco Scarselli served Count Camillo Negroni a stronger version of his favourite aperitif, the Americano. The count asked to replace the soda with a splash of gin, and Scarselli swapped the usual lemon twist for an orange slice. From that moment the drink took the count’s name.

Camillo Negroni had travelled widely, between America and London, and knew London Dry gin well: it’s no accident that this is the spirit that ended up in the recipe. Within two or three years, every bar in Florence was making it.

The official IBA recipe

The International Bartenders Association lists the Negroni among “The Unforgettables”, the timeless classics, and sets the recipe at three equal parts:

30 ml gin
30 ml Campari
30 ml sweet red vermouth

Pour everything straight into an old fashioned glass filled with ice, stir gently and garnish with half an orange slice. No shaker: the Negroni is built in the glass.

Why it works

The secret is the balance between the three components: the dry, aromatic push of the gin, the citrusy bitterness of Campari and the sweet roundness of the vermouth. It’s a drink that’s balanced by design: no single ingredient dominates, which is why it works equally well as an aperitif and as a nightcap.

Ice quality matters more than people think: one large, dense cube chills without diluting too fast. And the orange peel, squeezed over the glass, releases the essential oils that complete the nose of the drink.

How we make it at Jimmy

At our place on Via Petroni, the Negroni is one of the cocktail lab’s benchmarks: cut ice, carefully chosen vermouth and the freedom to play with the base gin. If you like it drier, we push the gin; if you prefer it softer, we work on the vermouth. It’s the classic everyone tunes to their own taste — and that’s exactly how it should be.