White Negroni Recipe

Before you start

The White Negroni is generally credited to British bartender Wayne Collins, who created it in France in 2001 when the usual Negroni bottles were not to hand. It keeps the three-part structure of gin, a bitter and an aromatized wine, but the Campari becomes Suze, a French gentian liqueur, and the sweet vermouth becomes Lillet Blanc. The drink is pale gold, floral and noticeably earthy.

Unlike the red original, this version is not equal parts. Suze is intensely bitter and vegetal, so most bartenders give gin the lead and trim the two modifiers. Lillet Blanc brings honey and orange to round off the gentian. Use a juniper-forward gin and stir well; a grapefruit twist suits the citrus notes in both modifiers.

Ingredients

• 45 ml (1½ oz) London dry gin
• 22 ml (¾ oz) Lillet Blanc — refrigerated after opening
• 22 ml (¾ oz) Suze — or another gentian liqueur
• 1 cup (about 150 g) ice cubes — for stirring
• 1 large ice cube — for serving, or serve up
• 1 wide strip grapefruit or lemon peel

Method

1. Chill a rocks glass or coupe. If serving on the rocks, put one large cube in it.
2. Measure the gin, Lillet Blanc and Suze into the mixing glass.
3. Add ice to three-quarters full and stir for 20 to 25 seconds, until the outside of the glass is frosted and the drink is softened.
4. Strain into the chilled glass over the large cube, or straight up into a coupe.
5. Express the grapefruit peel over the drink, pinching it skin-side down so the oils mist the surface, then drop it in.

Tips for success

• Taste Suze on its own first. If you find gentian very strong, start with 15 ml and raise it in later rounds.
• Lillet Blanc is a wine and oxidizes once opened. Keep it in the fridge and finish it within about 3 weeks.
• Served up, the drink tastes sharper; on a large cube it mellows as it dilutes.

Substitutions

Suze

Other gentian aperitifs such as Salers or Avèze work and vary in sweetness. A dry vermouth will not replace the bitterness.

Lillet Blanc

Cocchi Americano adds more quinine bitterness; a blanc or bianco vermouth makes it sweeter and more vanilla-led.

London dry gin

A softer, floral gin pushes the drink toward perfume. Plymouth gin keeps it earthy and smooth.

Variations

Equal-parts white Negroni

Use 30 ml each of gin, Lillet and Suze for a bolder, more bitter drink that mirrors the red original.

Troubleshooting

It tastes like bitter roots

Gentian is dominating. Cut the Suze to 15 ml and raise the Lillet to 30 ml.

It tastes flat and sour

The Lillet has oxidized. Open a fresh bottle and keep it refrigerated.

It is sharp and hot

Stir longer so more ice melts in, aiming for about a quarter more volume than you started with.

Storage

Serve straight after stirring. Opened Lillet Blanc should be refrigerated and used within a few weeks. Suze and gin are shelf-stable. A batched version with 20% added water keeps in the freezer for several weeks.

Safety notes

Contains gin plus two lower-proof modifiers, about 1.5 U.S. standard drinks in total (one standard drink is about 14 g of pure alcohol). Serve only to adults of legal drinking age, and do not drink and drive.