Coffee Negroni

Before you start

Campari and coffee share a bittersweet, roasted backbone, so infusing whole beans straight into the bottle gives a Negroni more depth without turning it into a coffee drink. The gin and vermouth stay the same; only the Campari changes, which keeps the equal-parts structure intact and the drink easy to repeat.

Timing is everything. Cracked beans release roast and cocoa notes fast, and after a couple of hours they start pushing harsh, woody bitterness into a liqueur that is already bitter. Infuse in small batches, taste on a schedule and strain as soon as it tastes like Campari with a clear coffee finish. A medium-dark roast with chocolate notes suits the drink better than a bright, fruity light roast.

Ingredients

• Coffee Campari (enough for 8 drinks)250 ml (8½ oz) Campari
• 20 g (about ¼ cup) whole medium-dark roast coffee beans — lightly cracked
• Cocktail30 ml (1 oz) London dry gin
• 30 ml (1 oz) coffee-infused Campari
• 30 ml (1 oz) sweet vermouth — rich Italian style, refrigerated after opening
• 1 cup (about 150 g) ice cubes — for stirring
• 1 large ice cube — for serving
• 1 strip orange peel
• 3 whole coffee beans — optional garnish

Method

1. Put the coffee beans in a zip-top bag and tap them with a rolling pin until most are cracked into 2 to 4 pieces. Do not grind them; powder makes the infusion muddy and hard to strain.
2. Combine the cracked beans and Campari in a clean jar, seal it and swirl. Leave it at room temperature, out of direct sun.
3. Taste after 45 minutes, then every 15 minutes. When the coffee is clear on the finish but the Campari still tastes bright, usually 60 to 90 minutes, strain through a fine strainer and then a coffee filter.
4. Add the gin, coffee Campari and sweet vermouth to a mixing glass. Fill it three-quarters with cold ice.
5. Stir steadily for 25 to 30 seconds until the glass is frosty and the drink has gained about a quarter in volume.
6. Strain over one large cube in a chilled rocks glass. Express the orange peel over the surface, then garnish with the peel and three coffee beans if you like.

Tips for success

• Label the jar with the start time. It is easy to forget an infusion, and an overnight steep turns harsh.
• Fresh-roasted beans infuse faster than older ones. Start tasting at 30 minutes if your beans were roasted within the last two weeks.
• Store the infused Campari in the original bottle with a label so nobody mistakes it for the plain version.

Substitutions

Coffee beans

5 ml of cold brew concentrate stirred into each drink is a quick shortcut. It adds coffee flavor but also water, so stir about 5 seconds less.

Gin

Bourbon makes a coffee Boulevardier with more caramel and body. Aged rum is another warm, rounded option.

Sweet vermouth

A vermouth with cocoa and vanilla notes amplifies the coffee. A lighter vermouth keeps the drink drier and more aperitif-like.

Variations

Coffee Negroni sbagliato

Stir 30 ml coffee Campari and 30 ml sweet vermouth over ice in a wine glass and top with 60 ml dry sparkling wine.

Troubleshooting

The drink is harsh and astringent

The beans were infused too long or ground too fine. Start a new batch with cracked beans and taste earlier.

The coffee barely registers

The infusion was too short or the beans were stale. Let it steep longer, tasting every 15 minutes, or use fresher beans.

Fine sediment settles in the glass

Coffee dust passed through. Strain the infused Campari through a paper coffee filter before bottling.

Storage

Serve as soon as it is stirred. Strained coffee-infused Campari keeps in a sealed bottle in a cool, dark cupboard for several months, although the coffee aroma fades after about a month. Keep opened vermouth refrigerated.

Safety notes

Contains gin, Campari and vermouth totaling about 1.4 U.S. standard drinks (one standard drink is roughly 14 g of pure alcohol). The infusion adds a small, variable amount of caffeine. For adults of legal drinking age only; do not drink and drive.