J and Tony's Hot Negroni

Name: J and Tony's Hot Negroni
Prep time: 4 min
Total time: 4 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: London dry gin — 15 ml (1/2 oz); Red bitter (e.g., Campari) — 15 ml (1/2 oz); Rosso vermouth — 15 ml (1/2 oz); Lemon juice (freshly squeezed) — 5 ml (1/6 oz); Sugar syrup — 5 ml (1/6 oz); Boiling water — 80 ml (2 2/3 oz)

Build; Warm up ∙ 4 min ∙ 9.8% ABV ∙

J and Tony's Hot Negroni is a hot-toddy riff on the Negroni, warming gin, a red bitter and Rosso vermouth with lemon, sugar syrup and boiling water. Warm and bittersweet, the red bitter's herbal snap softens into hot citrus and a gentle vermouth sweetness, finishing dry — a fireside sipper for cold nights.

Ingredients

Servings

Garnish

Orange twist

Instructions for 1 serving

Pre-heat a toddy glass
Pour all ingredients: London dry gin 15 mlRed bitter 15 mlRosso vermouth 15 mlLemon juice 5 mlSugar syrup 5 mlBoiling water 80 ml into the pre-heated glass
Express an orange twist over the cocktail and use as garnish

Tips

Pre-heat the toddy glass before pouring so the boiling water doesn't lose its heat on contact with cold glass.
Pour the boiling water last so it doesn't scorch the gin and bitter before they've mixed with the vermouth and citrus.
Express the orange twist directly over the hot glass — the heat lifts the citrus oils more than it would in a cold drink.

History

J and Tony's Hot Negroni is a hot-toddy reinterpretation of the Negroni created in 2021 by bartender Ewan Bennie at J & Tony's Discount Cured Meats and Negroni Warehouse, a San Diego bar. Bennie's version keeps the classic gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth trio but warms the drink into a mug with hot water in place of ice, turning the aperitivo into a steaming winter sipper.

The Negroni it riffs on is widely traced to Florence, Italy, where by most accounts Count Camillo Negroni asked a bartender to strengthen his Americano with gin in place of soda water around 1919, though its exact origins remain disputed among several claimants. J and Tony's version simply applies heat to that established formula, replacing the Negroni's chilled, stirred-over-ice build with a hot-water preparation served warm.

FAQ

What is in J and Tony's Hot Negroni?

Equal measures of London dry gin, a red bitter, and Rosso vermouth, with a little lemon juice and sugar syrup, topped with boiling water in a pre-heated toddy glass and finished with an expressed orange twist.

How is a Hot Negroni different from a classic Negroni?

The three Negroni components are the same, but the serve is inverted: instead of stirring them over ice, they are poured into a pre-heated toddy glass with lemon juice and sugar syrup and lengthened with boiling water. The heat softens the bitter edge and lifts the citrus oils, giving a warm, bittersweet sipper rather than a cold, spirit-forward aperitivo.

How do you make a Hot Negroni?

Pre-heat a toddy glass, then pour in the gin, red bitter, Rosso vermouth, lemon juice, and sugar syrup. Add the boiling water last so it does not scorch the spirits, and express an orange twist over the top before dropping it in.