Because classic Negronis contain three equal-parts components, varying the gin can change the cocktail’s character. One bottle might play up the bitter-sweet Campari, while another brings out the vermouth’s botanicals. Which-ever profile you’re keen to create, there’s a gin for your glass. Here are eight of our favorites.
Aviation American Gin
Less juniper-centric than other options, this American-style gin has an array of citrus and spices like cardamom, lavender, licorice, lemon, and orange peel on the nose and palate. Use it to mix up bright and balanced Negronis with a pleasantly bitter finish.
Hayman’s London Dry Gin
Prefer a gin-forward Negroni? Try this herbaceous and assertively piney London dry bottle from the 1863 distillery credited with pioneering the style. It has ample juniper, citrus, cinnamon, and earthy flavors to keep the spirit front and center in your cocktail.
Hendrick’s Gin
Rose petals, elderflower, cucumbers, herbs, orange peel, candied lime, and punchy pine headline this Scottish garden party. The gin’s floral notes are especially prominent alongside the vermouth in a Negroni, giving the drink a gentler profile.
Barr Hill Gin
Founded in 2011 in Vermont by a beekeeper and former homebrew supply storeowner, Barr Hill’s New American gin has three ingredients: juniper, grain spirit, and raw honey. The latter provides sweetly floral characteristics that highlight the aromatics of your Negroni’s vermouth.
Nordés Gin
Made from Galicia-grown Albariño, a white wine grape native to the Iberian Peninsula, this Spanish gin has distinctly fruity, floral flavors. Mix it into a Negroni to heighten the aromatics of the vermouth and create a softer, rounder cocktail.
Magellan Gin
Coriander and cloves headline this crisp French bottling that gets its blue hue from macerated orris root and flowers. The result is a spicy gin that holds its own in a spirit-forward cocktail like the Negroni.
Fords Gin
This London dry gin from aficionado Simon Ford creates an especially silky Negroni. Juniper takes centerstage and is complemented by coriander, lemon and orange peel, jasmine blossoms, and cassia bark.
Martin Miller’s Gin
Icelandic spring water and a two-batch distillation method that separates the citrus from other botanicals help to give this London-born gin its trademark smoothness and brightness. Stir it into a Negroni to savor zesty orange, vegetal, and herbaceous flavors.
