A Tale of Two Negronis
Every Week Can Be Negroni Week
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Every Week Can Be Negroni Week
This year’s Negroni Week may have officially ended yesterday, but if you close your eyes and wish it to be, every week can be Negroni Week (granted, without the organized global charitable component, but still…), especially if you’re at Caffe Dante.
Their year-round Negroni Sessions menu represents a baker’s dozen of spirited variations of Italy’s iconic cocktail, and last year, the 10th anniversary of Negroni Week, they supplemented their lineup with ten limited-edition Negronis from renowned Italian bartenders from around the world. It took me two trips to sample all ten last year, but things were more manageable with this year’s new offerings.
While there were two new Negroni add-ons (which have stayed on the permanent menu), the biggest change was in service by way of a Negroni Flight ($42). The Negroni Flight is elegantly presented on a Dante-branded silver-plated tray holding four bambino-sized 2-ounce servings of four of their most popular Negronis:
Negroni on Tap (Bombay Sapphire Gin, Campari, Martini & Rossi Dry Vermouth)
Chocolate Negroni (Fords Gin, Campari, Punt e Mes, Creme de Cacao, Chocolate Bitters)
Mezcalito (Hibiscus-infused Vida Mezcal, Contratto Aperitif, Dolin Blanc Vermouth de Chambery, Cinzano 1757 Dry Vermouth, Cherry Heering)
Negroni Bianco (Brooklyn Gin, Quinquina, Dolin Blanc Vermouth de Chambery, Carpano Dry Vermouth, Lemon Bitters, Verjus).
Dante plans to rotate the quartet of featured drinks on the Negroni Flight each month.
I fortified my Negroni tasting at Dante West Village with their Antipasto Board, which was packed with 24-month-aged prosciutto San Daniele, coppa, and salame alongside hunks of Parmigiano Reggiano, Manchego and stracchino cheese. A pile of tater-tot-sized, lightly salted, wood-fired bread balls rested in the middle of the platter alongside small bowls of giardiniera and baby artichokes and Calabrian chilies stuffed with yellowfin tuna.
Dante’s Enzoni and Last Sip Negroni
Of the two new Negroni variations added to the menu at Dante, one is an updated take on an early-aughts Negroni twist that’s been seeing a bit of a renaissance, and the other is inspired by one of of Italy’s most celebrated chefs.