What are your thoughts on splitting the amaro portion of the Negroni in a batch like this? I'd be curious if you have any tips. Or any other ideas on relatively simple ways to add more complexity to the batched negroni
Take that amaro/red bitter portion and split it up any which way. The most conventionally Negroni-like results will come from retaining a heavy Campari pour (say, 4 ounces out of 6) and then dropping in something like Cynar or Gran Classico as an accent. That sort of splitting is almost always a safe bet.
As for flavor matching: Almost any amaro you like is probably a good bet, but do consider how it will play with the other elements. I suspect Salers would make for an odd blend, for example. Aperol is close enough to Campari that I'm not sure what the benefit of blending would be. But Averna, China China, Ramazotti, Cynar (of course), Dell Etna, CioCiaro, Braulio, Lucano -- I haven't tried all of them, but those all seem like potential winners to me.
But you can get really interestingly weird with a mix like this: multiple vermouths, multiple amaros, even multiple gins. Go crazy...but not *too* crazy.
In general, you should be cautious about using more than 5 total elements in any batch. Otherwise, you end up with a muddle. (To bring this back to a music metaphor: There's a reason you see a lot of musical quartets and quintets, but fewer septets.) There's probably an exception, but capping your mix at 5 ingredients is a pretty good rule of thumb.
Sometimes I like to cut the campari by 1/4 with aperol, especially with gin negronis. Doesn't really change the flavor profile too much, Peter is right there, but it eases the bitterness just a tad.
With a single drink, especially one as easy as a negroni, grabbing another bottle for a measly 1/4 oz seems silly. Batching makes adding the extra ingredient easier over time.
I have a batch of Kingston negronis and a batch of manhattans with walnut bitters in the freezer right now. One of the other benefits of batching is it makes it easier to get through a bottle of vermouth. The colder temps prevent oxidization so the batched drink lasts longer. If I have half a bottle of vermouth in the fridge after a couple weeks, it's being batched in something.
What's your thought on sometimes-called freezer door bottles here--would you endorse mixing this once and keeping it for extended periods in the freezer over months?
I have two minor caveats: First, when I make a batch like this, it rarely lasts more than about 10 days. They're tasty. They go relatively fast. So I don't think I've ever left one in a freezer for months, which means it's possible there's some long-term effect I'm not aware of. But I can't think of what that would be.
Second, I've done this in a variety of locations/homes/using different freezers, and every now and then a large deep freezer will push a batch into iced-over slushy/fully frozen territory if the bottle is left in the freezer for a day or more. If/when that happens, it can be slightly annoying if what you're looking for is a quick-serve cocktail. But you can just leave it on the counter for about 30-45 minutes (or a fridge for a few hours) and it will re-liquify as it warms up.
But yes, in general, I'm generally in favor of freezer bottle cocktails, and I'm especially in favor of using this batching/freezing technique for stirred gin drinks, like Negronis.
What are your thoughts on splitting the amaro portion of the Negroni in a batch like this? I'd be curious if you have any tips. Or any other ideas on relatively simple ways to add more complexity to the batched negroni
Take that amaro/red bitter portion and split it up any which way. The most conventionally Negroni-like results will come from retaining a heavy Campari pour (say, 4 ounces out of 6) and then dropping in something like Cynar or Gran Classico as an accent. That sort of splitting is almost always a safe bet.
As for flavor matching: Almost any amaro you like is probably a good bet, but do consider how it will play with the other elements. I suspect Salers would make for an odd blend, for example. Aperol is close enough to Campari that I'm not sure what the benefit of blending would be. But Averna, China China, Ramazotti, Cynar (of course), Dell Etna, CioCiaro, Braulio, Lucano -- I haven't tried all of them, but those all seem like potential winners to me.
But you can get really interestingly weird with a mix like this: multiple vermouths, multiple amaros, even multiple gins. Go crazy...but not *too* crazy.
In general, you should be cautious about using more than 5 total elements in any batch. Otherwise, you end up with a muddle. (To bring this back to a music metaphor: There's a reason you see a lot of musical quartets and quintets, but fewer septets.) There's probably an exception, but capping your mix at 5 ingredients is a pretty good rule of thumb.
Sometimes I like to cut the campari by 1/4 with aperol, especially with gin negronis. Doesn't really change the flavor profile too much, Peter is right there, but it eases the bitterness just a tad.
With a single drink, especially one as easy as a negroni, grabbing another bottle for a measly 1/4 oz seems silly. Batching makes adding the extra ingredient easier over time.
I have a batch of Kingston negronis and a batch of manhattans with walnut bitters in the freezer right now. One of the other benefits of batching is it makes it easier to get through a bottle of vermouth. The colder temps prevent oxidization so the batched drink lasts longer. If I have half a bottle of vermouth in the fridge after a couple weeks, it's being batched in something.
I also want to know when it's martini week!
Martinis are most likely to appear in this Substack between March and May. Not long from now!
What's your thought on sometimes-called freezer door bottles here--would you endorse mixing this once and keeping it for extended periods in the freezer over months?
Yes. Definitely.
I have two minor caveats: First, when I make a batch like this, it rarely lasts more than about 10 days. They're tasty. They go relatively fast. So I don't think I've ever left one in a freezer for months, which means it's possible there's some long-term effect I'm not aware of. But I can't think of what that would be.
Second, I've done this in a variety of locations/homes/using different freezers, and every now and then a large deep freezer will push a batch into iced-over slushy/fully frozen territory if the bottle is left in the freezer for a day or more. If/when that happens, it can be slightly annoying if what you're looking for is a quick-serve cocktail. But you can just leave it on the counter for about 30-45 minutes (or a fridge for a few hours) and it will re-liquify as it warms up.
But yes, in general, I'm generally in favor of freezer bottle cocktails, and I'm especially in favor of using this batching/freezing technique for stirred gin drinks, like Negronis.
Thank you Peter. Just put my version of this in the freezer for tomorrow night. Excited for batched negroni friday night.