Featured Cocktail: The Negroni Sbagliato
This episode’s featured cocktail is the Negroni Sbagliato, which is a cocktail that’s featured prominently in Nick’s book and in this interview. In Italian, Sbagliato means “messed up” or “mistaken,” but it’s not as bad as the more serious term “Errore,” which means that the Negroni Sbagliato is a drink that resulted from good intentions, but wonky execution. The legend is that a bartender at some point grabbed a bottle of sparkling wine instead of gin (or perhaps ran out of gin and needed to resort to the bubbly as a way to beef up the drink). Well, sometimes, in these moments, we learn that incredible results are often stumbled upon, rather than sought after.
To make the Negroni Sbagliato, you’ll need:
Now, unlike your classic Negroni, the Sbagliato riff is actually a “built” drink, rather than a stirred one. And that simply means that you’re going to take a rocks glass with ice, add your Campari and sweet vermouth, top it with a 1 oz pour of sparkling wine (or perhaps a bit heavier pour…who are we kidding), and then stir gently to combine the ingredients before garnishing with a classic orange twist.
Now, Negroni fans, don’t get salty here, but you could argue that the Sbagliato improves on the classic Negroni in two noteworthy ways: it simplifies the mixing process and lightens the ABV of the cocktail significantly. This makes the Sbagliato an excellent brunch or porch sippin’ drink, so in those moments when your brain thinks “Negroni” but your body isn’t quite ready to get on board, the Negroni Sbagliato might just be the bastardized formula that saves the day.
