How the negroni became the modern gentleman’s tipple

Some say it not only looks like something you might be encouraged to down in order to soothe an irritating cough, it tastes like it, too. But that hasn’t stopped the Negroni – the vibrant concoction composed of Campari, red vermouth and gin – being adopted as the drink of choice among the more chic members of the Instagram generation. 

The true origins of the somewhat fey but often deceptively punchy ‘standard’ Negroni are as hazy as you’re likely to feel in the morning after one too many. But a popular explanation is that a likely-fake Italian nobleman called Pascal Olivier ‘Count de Negroni’ invented it in 1919 when he visited the Caffe Casoni in Florence and tasked bartender Fosco Scarselli with perking-up his favoured Americano cocktail by substituting the regular soda with gin. It’s also said that the dutiful mixologist garnished the drink with a slice of orange rather than lemon in order to differentiate it from the similar-looking Americano, an identifier that prevails today.