The popularity of the negroni has met the zero-proof cocktail movement with a wide range of “nogronis” on menus today. At Storico Vino, a Venetian-inspired wine bar in Atlanta’s Buckhead Village, the Zero Proof Negroni is a classic equal-parts negroni recipe, but using Pentire Adrift (a botanical nonalcoholic spirit from England), Wilfred’s Aperitif (a bittersweet non-alc option), and Lyre’s Aperitif Rosso (a nonalcoholic vermouth with notes of blood orange and vanilla). To compensate for the absence of alcohol’s heat, beverage director Jose Pereiro adds extra expresses of orange peel over the finished drink for more bitterness.
Over a century ago, Count Camillo Negroni walked into Florence’s Café Casoni, asked that his usual Campari and vermouth be finished with gin instead of soda (he must have been having a particularly rough day), and a legendary cocktail was born. Once relatively unknown to most Americans, the drink has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, driven by America’s newfound penchant for bitter drinks. The cocktail has become so common that it has spawned offshoot trends on drink menus, including white negronis, mezcal negronis and the negroni sbagliato craze. Here we look at some of the most unique negroni builds on menus today, showcasing how a simple three-ingredient cocktail can be the foundation for endless flavor play.