In Risico while meeting with Kristatos, Bond orders a Negroni.
Bond nodded. ‘A Negroni. With Gordon’s, please.’
The waiter walked back to the bar. ‘Negroni. Uno. Gordon’s.’
Like the Americano, the Negroni contains equal amounts Campari and sweet vermouth. It also contains an equal measure of gin. In the story, Bond specifies Gordon’s gin, a favorite of his.
The drink is said to have been invented around 1920, when Count Camillo Negroni ordered an Americano—sweet vermouth, Campari and club soda—with gin swapped in for the standard soda.
Others are skeptical of this claim, wondering if this yarn is just a bit of brilliant corporate PR by Campari, noting that the drink doesn’t appear in cocktail manuals until the middle of the century.
Risico was written after Fleming visited Venice (and the Lido peninsula) in 1958.
If I’m making a Negroni, these are my preferred mixers:
Plymouth Gin, Campari and Dolin Vermouth.
