The Minimalist Negroni Alternative You'll Look So Elegant Sipping This Summer

The deceptively simple combination of bold gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth that makes up a perfect Negroni is as popular as it is powerful. It is reportedly the best selling cocktail in the world, according to one industry publication. A whole darn "Negroni week" has been toasting the tipple worldwide each September for more than a decade. And even its linguistically redundant, lower ABV riffs — a Negroni sbagliato "with prosecco in it," anyone? — have been known to take over our pop cultural consciousness. That latter phenomenon might be due to the Negroni's incongruous divisiveness, given all that apparent enthusiasm. A white Negroni, instead, is a more broadly palate pleasing swap.

A white Negroni strips the original's essential ingredient for a mellower finish. Campari is what makes a Negroni a Negroni. The Italian aperitif imbues the cocktail not only with its bittersweetness, but also with its deep orange hue, and notable viscosity. The take-charge Campari's bold characteristics just aren't for everyone, and its qualities can begin to feel heavy on the very hot summer days when Negronis seem to start sweating condensation all over the place. A white Negroni crucially cuts those elements, and takes a few more liberties to become its very own thing, even by a similar name.

Start making a Negroni, stop short of the Campari, and you'll still have gin and sweet vermouth. This combination is sometimes called a gin & it or a sweet martini, but a white Negroni it is not. For a white Negroni, you'll keep the gin, but skip the vermouth in favor of the similar, but slightly fruitier Lillet blanc, and add a bit of the near-sweet and herbaceous French liqueur, Suze.

Once shaken with ice and strained into a glass, a white Negroni is light with the essence of its antecedent, liltingly absent a true Negroni's densely concentrated flavors and somewhat syrupy consistency. It might not quite have the same colorful social media splash, but a white Negroni's crisper finish is just much more pleasant to sip in elevated temperatures. For additional adaptations, you can also boost your Negroni with a splash of beer, or revisit the even less boozy three-ingredient cocktail that started it all.