Finally, we’ve made a white negroni!
Tasting Notes
Rory: This is when you want a glass of Suze, but maybe not a glass of suze? It’s pleasantly stretched out Suze. When negroni people drink negronis, is it because they want a glass of campari, but less?
I think I’m picking up on the fruity “wine, with the saturation turned up” Lillet Blanc’s sweetness. I’m not really detecting the gin, at least not directly.
I’ll admit that one of the things I like here is that I get to feel cultured and responsible, drinking a bitter drink (like a real adult who definitely doesn’t eat sugary cereal and watch cartoons). I’m not 100% sure that, given the option, if I would drink this or just a glass of Suze, which I’ve done multiple times at this point.
Towards the end, it’s somehow getting more bitter? No, it’s getting brighter? Is this the grapefruit peel? (With lime wheel drinks, I’m always surprised at how bitter they get…)
I think the answer is that I like this at least as much as a glass of Suze, but also I don’t have to do anything to have a glass of Suze. This is brighter and lighter, but objectively, that’s neither better or worse.
Ryan: With the first couple of sips, Suze is definitely the dominant flavor here. The lillet and even the gin take a back seat to the suze. A lot of bitter notes show up, though nothing particularly unpleasant. I’d be curious to try it with saline to see what different notes show up with the bitterness tamped down, although I’m not going to modify this because I do like it! Surprisingly little sweetness shows up, although I’d saw both the lillet and suze generally taste pretty sweet on their own.
After a break and another sip, sip, more of the other flavors show up, There’s some full-bodied depth from the lillet and I think some of the herbal notes are coming from the gin, not just hte suze.
Overall, it tastes like a nice classic cocktail, which is neat, because the recipe is pretty new.
Recipe
- 1 oz Bombay gin
- 1 oz Suze
- 1 oz Lillet blanc
Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with a twist of grapefruit.