White Negroni

You’d better like gin, you’d better like bitter and you’d better like strong: this potent three-piece polls strongly in each category – the latter in particular – while dutifully rebooting the palate with every sip.

According to The PDT Cocktail Book where I’ve lifted this recipe from, the White Negroni was concocted by Mixxit’s Wayne Collins in 2002 as a pre-dinner drink for an event in Bordeaux – very fitting as Lillet was first produced in Graves in 1887 using the region’s famous white grape duo of semillon and sauvignon blanc.

Just quietly, I’m stoked this tastes so good as I tracked down the Suze Salers specifically to mix this drink. While I’ve still got Suze on the shopping list, its acquisition isn’t as urgent as it once was. Don’t be afraid to give this a long, hard stir: this is a drink you’ll want as cold as you can stand it: think martini-esque mouth shivers.

White Negroni
(Based on a recipe by Wayne Collins published in The PDT Cocktail Book)

60ml Brokers Gin
30ml Lillet Blanc
22.5ml Gentiane Salers (or any other gentian-based aperitif)

Stir with ice for 30 seconds and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.