12 Best Gins For A Negroni

The elegant Negroni has been enjoying the spotlight for a few years now, but experts know this Italian beauty has been around for more than a century. This classic tipple is the direct offspring of the Americano, a mix of Campari, sweet vermouth, and club soda. History tells us that we have to thank two men for its existence. The first one is Count Camillo Negroni, who stepped into Caffé Cassoni in Florence one fateful day in 1919 and asked the bartender to take his Americano to the next level. The bartender — the second genius in this tale — decided to use gin instead of club soda, and thus was born this aperitivo.

The Negroni's beauty goes well beyond its gorgeous ruby color and pretty garnish, usually an orange slice. Like other classic cocktails, it's deceptively simple — three ingredients poured in equal parts. But this trait not only demands great quality spirits and liquors for its creation; it also calls for a skillful bartender to put them together in perfect balance. And so, to figure out how to choose excellent gins, we found an excellent guide: Seba García, co-owner and head bartender at Presidente Bar in Buenos Aires (ranked No. 21 in The World's 50 Best Bars), and one of the most gifted Negroni-makers on the continent.

The story of this super British gin begins in 1876. It was founder James Burrough who started this iconic brand in the historic Chelsea Distillery. Since its inception, Beefeater London has moved homes twice and is currently produced in Kensington, a gin temple that still houses original Victorian pot stills and also boasts a botanical room for storing fresh ingredients. Guests can actually visit the Kensington distillery, learn how Beefeater is produced, and stock up on merchandise.

The brand made its stateside debut in 1963 and has been a success ever since. A lot may have changed over the years — the brand was purchased by Pernod Ricard in 2005, but the brand holds on proudly to its legacy. Master Distiller Desmond Payne has overseen product quality since 1995, and the recipe for Beefeater London Dry is still the same one that Burroughs developed back then. The recipe includes nine botanicals, such as juniper, Seville orange, aromatic orris root, and lemon peel. This results in a zesty gin, with a strong presence of juniper that makes it perfect for those who love a classic, elegant Negroni. These botanicals, says Seba, give a Beefeater-based Negroni a very interesting scent.

Hailing from the small seaside village of Girvan in Scotland, this delicious, refreshing gin was born in 1999 with a unique personality. The Hendrick's Gin Palace is where the magic happens, thanks to two types of stills used for distillation. The first one is called the Bennett, a copper pot from the 1860s that steeps the 11 botanicals in spirit overnight before the actual distillation, reports Liquor.com. Then comes the Carter-Head, a rare piece from 1948 that steams the botanicals in a basket. The combination of these devices allows for a unique infusion and distillation process.

Master Distiller Lesley Gracie and her team are also to thank when we talk about Hendrick's. Not only did Gracie create the recipe for Hendricks, but she and her team are also in charge of putting together this potion nowadays, using 11 botanicals brought from around the world, including elderflower, chamomile, coriander, and caraway seeds. But it's the essence of rose and cucumber that set Hendrick's apart, granting it fresh and enchanting notes. In fact, Seba says a Hendrick's-based Negroni allows us to change the classic garnish, and use a lime peel or a cucumber slice.

If you're wondering who the brand was named after, it turns out Hendrick was a gardener who worked for the Grant family, notes Liquor.com — Hendrick's is owned by William Grant & Sons — who was particularly talented when it came to growing roses. It was Janet Sheed Roberts, William Grant's granddaughter, who named the gin after him.

One of the lesser-known Scottish gins that is gaining popularity, Rock Rose hails from the village of Dunnet, which gives the Dunnet Bay distillery its name. This distillery, which is open to the public for tours (and looks incredibly charming), is home to Elizabeth and Margaret, two copper stills that have been designed with traditional copper heads and botanical vapor baskets. After the distillation process, each bottle in the 500-bottle batch is hand-filled, sealed, and labeled.

Claire and Martin Murray, the creators of this gin, experimented with 55 recipes before settling on a winner on August 2014, featuring 18 botanicals like rose root and sea buckthorn, notes The Gin Guide. Upon the first encounter with Rock Rose gin, there are notes of rose, citrus, and cardamom on the nose, followed by berries, florals, and juniper on the palate. Sea buckthorn and lemon sorbet make for an interesting finish that makes it very fresh. Seba finds these notes appealing and says they allow us to play around with the classic Negroni aromas and garnish, perhaps using a slice of lemon instead of orange.

Created from fresh strawberries, this Seville-born gin was created by a pair of Spanish brothers, José Antonio and Francisco Rodríguez, who purchased the Los Alcores de Carmona distillery in the Andalusia region. The building already held centuries of history, as it once produced pacharán, a traditional Spanish blackthorn liquor. In fact, it was built in the late 19th century and gets water from an underground system from Roman times. Though the brothers' initial plan, notes Chilled, was to preserve the distillery's history through the production of herbal liquors, they soon began producing gin and ended up creating one of the most popular products in the country. According to El Español, Puerto de Indias boasts an 80% share of the gin market in Spain. The brand also has a Classic label, as well as Blackberry and Orange Blossom & Peach versions.

The bright pink gin offers notes of Huelva strawberries on the nose, and strawberry, juniper, and citrus notes on the palate. The finish is smooth, playful, and fresh. These traits make Puerto de Indias a very interesting gin for a Negroni, as its sweet, fruity notes interact perfectly with the sweet vermouth and bitter, herbal Campari.

With its mysterious personality and Gothic-looking bottle, Brockman's gin will intrigue you when you spot it at the bar. A bit of research will tell you that it is produced in Warrington, UK, and since its launch in 2008, it has become one of the fastest-growing gins in the category.

Ten botanicals go into its creation, including juniper berries from Italy, blueberries and blackberries from Northern Europe — which feature prominently in its profile — coriander from Bulgaria, and lemon peel from Spain. The juniper doesn't play a major role, and this may turn off some gin purists, according to The Gin Guide. It's actually the floral notes that will hit you harder on the nose, while the sweet and dry notes, such as blackberry and coriander, make an appearance on the palate. There is plenty to explore here, and Seba agrees. He finds Brockman's to be a very interesting gin, as its notes of cilantro, licorice, coriander, and berries will power the vermouth and the Campari's herbal notes. This means it will make for a completely unexpected Negroni that could work perfectly as an aperitif.

A relatively new gin, it was born in 2007 from the mind of entrepreneur Anshuman Vohra. A couple of years later, it arrived in Spain, just in time for the gin and tonic craze, and it now has a presence in more than 50 countries.

To produce Bulldog gin, the neutral spirit is infused with 12 botanicals in a copper pot still, which allows them to macerate and release their essential oils. The resulting vapor then passes through a condenser and is liquified to obtain an essence, which is compounded with a wheat-based neutral spirit. This liquid is broken down with demineralized water, and then bottled and labeled.

Bulldog gin features 12 botanicals from around the world, such as French lavender, Turkish poppy, Italian juniper, Chinese dragon's eye, and Spanish almond. These ingredients make it a unique blend, as well as rich and versatile, so it is ideal for a more experimental Negroni. "We seeing so many Negroni variations these days," says Seba, from a classic Boulevardier (with bourbon) to mezcal Negronis. This makes the fact that we can still have a gin-based Negroni smell and taste so different quite exciting.