The best Negroni serves pure on the rocks, period.
But should we look into mixing with a Tonic? We’ve seen recipes for Negroni Fizz, made with Tonic or sparkling white wine. And, it’s because we like our Negroni pure, that everyone does. We can image it’s to bitter for some, or to alcoholic for others.
Should we?
After a roundtable of discussions, we decided we’d only offer a Tonic if the result of the mix would satisfy our taste. If the Tonic would add to the Negroni and vice versa. We agreed not just to present a Tonic just to present a Tonic.
Which one?
Adding an ingredient to the mother of Italian apéritifs is already moving into the grey zone, so we were unanimous we’d only look around in Italy for a suitable candidate Tonic. Let’s keep our cocktail as Italian as possible. Count Negroni would be satisfied.
The search
Strolling around the internet because of Corona, no tour d’Italia in a nice Fiat 500 as we’d imagined, we were looking for the right fit. We’re not into mediocre and not into a mass product. We want something special.
Gemellii, Italian for twins, is a recent Tonic brand established by 2 twin brothers. They started out because they were not satisfied with what they found on the market to mix with their favorite Gins. A perfect fit we thought. Now let’s see if they produce a Tonic able to accompany our Conte Negroni.
The Aha Erlebnis
Luckily the brothers created several Tonics so we were able to test different combinations and variations (volumewise). We’d think the Bitter or the Indian Tonic would be the best fit. After several tasting sessions, we were very pleased with the combination of our Conte Negroni and Bergamot Tonic. Giving a nice extra citrus- and subtle sweet Mexican Agave taste. We’d propose a 1/2 combo of each, making a nice aperitif of 10-12% Alc.
Together with our Conte Negroni launch, the Bergamot Tonic will also be available in our online store.
