Volume I

Mezcal Negroni

The President

Governed, not stirred

Historical context

The Negroni has a disputed origin — a Count in Florence in 1919, allegedly, asking for his Americano made stronger. The substitution of mezcal for gin is a modern heresy that a certain type of purist objects to loudly. The President is not interested in the objections of that type of purist, or any other.

Secretary's note: He ended the 2003 Conclave on the second day, mid-afternoon, when the mezcal ran out. He said nothing. He stood up. Members who have been with the Club long enough knew immediately. The rest learned.

Ingredients

  • 1½ oz

    Mezcal

    Oaxacan single-village production, wild-harvested espadín agave, earthen pit, open-air wooden vats, clay pot distillation. "I want the agave. Not a campfire."

  • 1 oz

    Campari

    No substitutions.

  • 1 oz

    Sweet vermouth

    Spanish-style vermouth, oxidative and nutty. He keeps a bottle open at home and replaces it every ten days whether it is empty or not.

Optional

A dash of black walnut bitters from a small producer in Vermont who ships to a small list. The President is on the list. How he got on it before the producer opened is a question The Idiot once raised and then, mid-sentence, decided not to finish.

Method

  1. Stir over a large single ice sphere — not a cube, a sphere — for thirty rotations. He has a specific count. It is thirty. Not more.

  2. Express an orange peel over the surface, run it around the rim, and place it in the glass.

  3. Walk away. The President finishes the drink on his own schedule, in his own time.

GlasswareRocks glass over one large ice sphere
GarnishOrange peel, expressed and placed in glass.
MemberThe President →
VolumeVolume I of the Compendium
The Secretary's note

He ended the 2003 Conclave on the second day, mid-afternoon, when the mezcal ran out. He said nothing. He stood up. Members who have been with the Club long enough knew immediately. The rest learned.