Upgrade your Negroni with a sturdy Mezcal or Scotch

You deserve awesome cocktails that are easy to make but complex and delicious. Here's two that will make you feel like you just paid $20 for it at the speakeasy.

You deserve easy options. Today, I’m giving you two of them. (Source: Sips, Nibbles and Bites)

The word of the day kids is….sturdy.

There are few cocktails as classic as the Negroni, an equal parts mixed drink (gin, Campari and sweet vermouth) with Italian roots that uses just three ingredients to deliver a flavor bomb in your mouth. The late 19th-century drink became a staple at your favorite elitist cocktail joints in the late 20th-century entering the 21st, with bartenders remixing it with mezcal instead of gin.

Why mezcal? Because it’s sturdy as hell.

Mezcal is distilled from the heart of the agave plant, a 300-pound bulb that’s roasted, mashed and eventually distilled to become the spirit we all know and love. That process can result in either a smokey and spicy spirit or a herbaceous and floral spirit. I believe the fire-based process makes those notes and flavors more pronounced than normal, like a smoke ring on barbecued meat or a good char on your favorite vegetables.

Therefore, replacing a sometimes muted spirit like gin (although some can be funky, herby and citrusy) with our sturdy ass spirit means that the mezcal can put up a fight against a bittersweet Campari and the tart vermouth. The end result means those flavors battle it out, drawing out a delicious sweetness that lives in all three ingredients.

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Yes, you can make awesome cocktails with Scotch. I think. (Source: Robb Report)

In experimenting with cocktails, I couldn’t help but keep thinking whether Scotch could provide a similar sturdiness while providing that peaty smoke and sweet spice elements that I enjoy.

Net result? The Scotch went beyond sturdy. If Mezcal is a fullback, Scotch is an offensive lineman in this scenario. I used Laphroaig in the equal parts concoction and it just bludgeoned the cocktail out of whack. There were some hints of deliciousness there, but it needed some tweaking.

As always, my first point of contact was to hit Difford’s, the best website there is on how to make high-level cocktails. Their solution for a Scotch Negroni was to go a bit heavier on the Scotch and dial it back a bit on the Campari. Problem solved.

There might be some of you discerning sippers that say, “Hey! Aren’t you just making a Boulevardier?” This is mostly correct, as a proper Boulevardier leans on Bourbon while dialing down the vermouth and Campari a bit more.

It’s all about ratios and what you’re comfortable with. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is also just three ingredients, but I need a lot of PB and a bit less J on my multigrain lightly toasted sammie. Ultimately, your concoction of Campari, vermouth and [insert spirit of choice here] is all about personal preference.

Here’s how I like to ratio my two remixes on the Negroni. You’re welcome.

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Put some wealth in your cocktail. (Source: Glenlivet)

Recipe: Mezcal and Scotch Negroni

• Serve: Old fashioned glass

• Garnish: Orange wedge

• Ingredients for Mezcal Negroni

  • 1 oz — Mi Mama Me Dijo Mezcal (use whatever you like, been enjoying this one for $39)

  • 1 oz — Campari

  • 1 oz — Sweet vermouth (Tip: after opening, put it in the refrigerator — it can spoil after a month)

• Ingredients for Scotch Negroni

  • 1.33 oz — Laphroaig Isley Single Malt Scotch (a blended Scotch works well here too, like Monkey Shoulder or Johnnie Walker Double Black)

  • 1 oz — Campari

  • 2/3 oz — Sweet vermouth

• Make the cocktail: Add all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice, stir for 30 seconds and strain into a glass. Garnish with orange wedge if you’ve got it available.