Wolfgang Puck's Favorite Cocktail Is A Classic Concoction

When a world-famous chef shares his favorite — well, anything — you take note. On TikTok, Wolfgang Puck showcased how to make his drink of choice, the Negroni. "It's so easy, even I can do it!" he said as he mixed up his ideal cocktail, which one of his bartenders garnished with a flamed orange peel.

The Spago chef was born in Austria but is now a Hollywood icon for fine dining and catering (hello, Oscars!) and has become one of America's and the world's most recognized chefs. Puck certainly brings an international flair to all he does, and his favorite libation's European roots are right on brand. In 1919, Count Camillo Negroni walked into the Caffè Casoni in Florence, Italy, to order an Americano — not the coffee, but the cocktail combining Campari, sweet vermouth, and soda water. The Count may have had a rough day because he wanted his Americano with gin instead of soda water, and thus, we have the Negroni.

The differences between the Americano and Negroni are huge, alcoholically speaking. With the gin instead of soda water, the Negroni is pure alcohol without mixers. In fact, this must-try Italian cocktail has an alcohol content of 24% ABV (alcohol by volume), while the Americano cocktail has just 9% to 13% ABV. Nevertheless, the Negroni is a quintessential Florentine cocktail that has stood the test of time for over a century, and it has the thumbs up from one of the world's top chefs.

The recipe for a Negroni is simple. The ingredients are added in equal parts over ice, with orange (a slice or twisted peel) for garnish. The combination of ingredients is critical: Campari is bittersweet, gin brings botanical flavors, and sweet red vermouth adds sugar and spice. The equivalent proportions are necessary for balance.

Looking at the menus of his many restaurants, Wolfgang Puck's love for the Negroni is clear. The decorated chef offers a barrel-aged Negroni at his CUT restaurants in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. CUT D.C. also has a Golden Negroni made with Botanist gin, Suze, Italicus, and Dolin Blanc vermouth. At CUT Bahrain, the Negroni is made with a secret blend of gin , while at CUT Beverly Hills, the Negroni is again aged but made with Aperol in addition to Campari. It seems Puck serves some form of the Negroni at most of his restaurants — there's even a nonalcoholic version at Spago in Maui.

The classic Negroni has many variations, but the most famous is the Negroni Sbagliato. This drink substitutes Prosecco for gin, another way to reduce the alcohol content. Sbagliato is the Italian word for "wrong." As the original story goes, the drink was invented when Milan bartender Mirko Stocchetto grabbed a Prosecco bottle instead of gin while making a Negroni, and the Sbagliato was born. In addition to the original, you can order one at Puck's Spago restaurant.