The Perfect Negroni with Prickly Pear Gin

The Negroni is the ideal cocktail — three ingredients, equal parts, no muddling, no shaking, served on a rock with an orange peel. Gin, Campari, sweet vermouth. Done well, it's a drink that gets better as the ice melts. With a prickly-pear gin like our Nopalera, it tastes like the desert at sunset.

Ingredients

• 1 oz Nopalera Gin (prickly pear, juniper, California citrus)
• 1 oz Campari
• 1 oz sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica)
• Orange peel
• 1 large ice cube

Method

1. Add gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth to a rocks glass with a single large ice cube.
2. Stir for ten seconds.
3. Express the orange peel over the surface, rub the rim, drop it in.
4. Drink it slowly. The Negroni rewards patience.

Notes

Why prickly pear gin. The Negroni is built on bitterness — Campari provides it. A traditional London Dry gin pulls in juniper and pine to balance. Nopalera does that, plus brings a brightness from the prickly pear and California citrus that lifts the drink, makes it less brooding, more sun-warmed. The desert version of a classic Italian cocktail.

Equal parts. Don't deviate. The 1:1:1 ratio is the cocktail. Once you start adjusting, you're making a different drink.

Stir, don't shake. The Negroni is served on the rocks but stirred (briefly) for proper texture before pouring.

Variations

• Negroni Sbagliato. Replace the gin with prosecco. Lower-ABV, brighter.
• White Negroni. Gin, Suze, Lillet Blanc. Bitter but pale.
• Boulevardier. Replace the gin with bourbon or rye. Use Zanja-Madre Bourbon for an excellent fall version.
• Negroni Bianco. Replace Campari with Suze and sweet vermouth with dry. Lighter, more aperitif.

Where to next

Shop Nopalera Gin, try the classic gin and tonic, or a gin martini.