Clarified Sour (Cherry) Negroni
Prebatch
Pre-batching cocktails is the way to go in the summertime. It dosen’t take that much time (you just have to be a bit patient) and you can bring an elevated beverage to like any BBQ, the park, the beach, on a camping trip… You basically just need to bring glasses and a bit of ice (garnish if your’e really trying to impress)
The first time I had a Negroni, I hated it. I though it was medicinal, bitter and just incredibly strong, I had like 5 of them that night.
I love Negronis now but this version is a bit easier to drink, it has more acidity to calm down the bitterness of Campari and it’s a bit fruity.
About 350g. of sour cherries washed with the pits in
300ml gin (preferably Beefeater)
300ml Campari
300ml sweet vermouth (I used Byrrh Grand Quinquina which isn’t technically vermouth, Dolin would work really well or Poli Gran Bassano)
30ml Luxardo Maraschino
93ml water**
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon citric acid (or 2 tablespoon lemon juice)*
250ml full fat milk
Place the cherries in a bowl big enough to blend the rest of the ingredients, squash them with a muddler or a mortar. Add all the booze, the water, the vanilla and the citric acid, give it a god mix, making sure the citric acid is fully dissolve.
Finally, add the milk. It’s going to cuddle and look terrible. Leave it alone from two hours to overnight covered in the fridge.
Place a fine mesh strainer, lined with a humid coffee filter, over a new bowl. Start pouring the curdled mix over the coffee filter BUT do it slowly, the first few drop are going to be cloudy. Wait until the cocktail runs clear and transfer the strainer to a new bowl. At this point, again: leave it alone.
When you cocktail is completely clarified and strained, store it in a bottle and keep it in the fridge. Serve it over ice and call it a day!
* About citric acid: I love using acids (citric or malic) instead of citrus juice, not always but it’s great if you dont want to alternate flavours in your cocktails. In this case specifically I really wanted the tart cherry flavour to come thought. Acids are also easier to work with when testing recipes.
**Ok, this is very specific but 93ml represent 10% of liquids above (gin, Campari ‘‘vermouth’’ ans Luxardo), you can weight it (93g.) or just mesure 90ml of water. It seems weird to dilute the cocktail BUT cocktails need dilution: specifically prebatch cocktails. I’m guessing you wont bring a mixing vessel to the beach!