Episode 181 - Negroni with David T. Smith & Keli Rivers

In this bitter and botanical deep dive with Keli Rivers and David T. Smith, we preview their new book, Negroni, and discuss the ins and outs of this classic equal-parts cocktail.

Some of the topics we discuss include:

• The various origin stories of the Negroni - both the conventional story about count Camillo Negroni, and also some stunningly international accounts that cast doubt on when and where this cocktail was truly invented, and by whom.
• What it’s like to assemble a cocktail book during a pandemic, and why Negroni turned out to be a timely tool for home bartenders affected by lockdowns and a lack of bars.
• The three primary buckets that all negronis can fall into: perfect ratio through formulation, perfect ratio through balance, and perfect ratio out the window.
• Some of the more exotic or avant-garde Negroni recipes in the book, including tiki negronis, creamy negronis, and even a negroni served hot.
• We learn the story behind Keli’s tattoo, the importance of having a bottled negroni in the fridge at all times, the virtues of gin and cola, and much, much more.