Recipe: White Negroni Sbagliato
If There Must Be a Drink of Summer, How About This One? Plus a New "On a Toot!"
Last Friday, I was at Long Island Bar for a brief business meeting. I slipped into a back booth and took a glance at the menu, which rarely changes. It was sunny out and pleasant, a fine if breezy spring day. Perfect weather for a White Negroni Sbagliato, one of the menu’s mainstays. So I ordered one. My companion did the same. I snapped a photo and later put it up on Instagram.
Soon after, I received a few DMs, all asking, in so many words and with a certain urgency, what that beautiful drink was. I was surprised. I thought everyone knew about LIB and its White Negroni Sbagliato. They’ve been serving them hand over fist for years, after all. But I have to remind myself from time to time that I see the world through cocktail goggles and everyone else just wears regular glasses.
So, you know about the White Negroni, right? Gin, Lillet Blanc and Suze. And you’ve heard about the Negroni Sbagliato? (Maybe heard too much about it recently!) Campari, sweet vermouth and Prosecco. Well, this cocktail is those two drinks’ love child. The Suze stayed from the first. The Prosecco was kept from the second. The Lillet and gin were kicked to the curb. The sweet vermouth became bianco vermouth. And there’s a cucumber garnish, just to confuse you into thinking maybe you’ve been served a Pimm’s Cup by mistake.
As it turns out, the drink has a fairly high-brow cultural pedigree.
Explained LIB owner Toby Cecchini: “[David] Moo and I created that drink together for the Cocktails & Conversation series I've been doing for the last ten years for the AIA, the American Institute of Architects, wherein we create a cocktail to match the professional arc of whatever world-class architect is being featured that month. This one we made for the couple Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi of Weiss/Manfredi, and I liked it so much I decided to put it on our menu some while later.”
It’s a pretty simple drink when it comes down to it. But all the best cocktails are. And it’s a great drink for summer. And, look, here’s Memorial Day Weekend! Just in time.
Recipe, and a new “On a Toot!” episode, below.