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.