#negroniweek2017

Negroni Week is an initiative by Campari and Imbibe magazine which aims to celebrate one of the world’s great cocktails and in the process raising money for charitable causes around the world. The concept introduced in India in 2015 has gained immense popularity since then. Aspri Spirits, the importer of Campari, the Italian bitter, herbal, and aromatic drink has been able to place India as the second largest participant in Asia, and 14th in the world this year.

As goes the idea behind this, to participate, each bar signs up at negroniweek.com, chooses from the list of recommended charities, and makes an immediate donation to that charity. They can also return during and after Negroni Week to make additional donations to their chosen charity. After Negroni Week is complete, they tally the raised amount collectively by all the participating bars, restaurants and partners.

Nitin Tewari & Rojita Tiwari

Marcellus Baptista,Sweta Mohanty,Shatbhi Basu & Rojita

Nitin & Rojita with Jackie Matai & Ashutosh Rajput

Around 75 outlets across the country, Delhi-NCR region, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune and many other cities took part in this initiative. That’s not all, for the first time, the company partnered with a media platform- The Drinks & Destinations Podcast, as their offcial podcast partner for the week long celebration June 5-11. To add some flavour to this year’s event, Campari and Aspri Spirits associated with two renowned mixologists and two influencers (Yangdup Lama, Owner/Partner at Cocktails & Dreams, Speakeasy and Karina Aggarwal, Alcohol Blogger @Gigglewater411 along with mixologist and Owner Bartrender, Nitin Tewari and Rojita Tiwari of Drinks & Destinations). Their job was to create some exclusive Negroni cocktails by adding some twist to the classic recipe.

Participating Bars for the Negroni Week were 153 Biere Street, Radio Bar, The Other Side, A Ta Maison, Paasha, Dome, The Gateway Hotels & Resorts, Paparazzi, Alto Vino, The Irish House, Speakeasy cocktails & dreams, Hoot, ITC Hotel, Rude Lounge, The Bombay Bronx, The Fisherman’s Wharf, Town Hall, PDA, Glocal, Social, Mr. Choy, Toast, Public Affair, Pings, Miami, Bar 41, Bootlegger, Big Brewsky, PCO, Harry’s Bar & Café and The Biere Club.

Negroni week 2017 kick-started on 5th June with a preview event at Mumbai’s famous Razzberry Rhinoceros, an Iconic venue overlooking Arabian sea at the Juhu Beach.

Here’s what a classic Negroni Recipe is :-

Campari – 45 ml, Gin – 45 ml and Vermouth – 45 ml with Ice and slice of Orange peel as garnish.

However, mixoligist Nitin Tewari dedicated his 3 Negroni variations to Rojita Tiwari and her work by redefining Drinks & Destinations and what she does. Here’s what their innovation was –

CUTTING CHAI NEGRONI

This twisted Negroni that’s combines India’s favourite local drinks Cutting Chai with globally known classic Negroni. Aged in Barrel to marry all the ingredients and create a magical mix.

20 ml Bombay Sapphire Gin infused with Masala tea

20 Campari

20 ml Martini Rosso

Mixed and aged in Oak barrel for 7 days.

Method: Stirred

Glass: Rock Glass with Ice

Garnish: Orange zest and Spice

CRAWFORD SOUR

Each of the sour ingredients, sourced from the local Crawford market. This twist to classic Negroni is making Mumbaikar’s fall in love with this cocktail.

20 ml each of Gin, Campari and Martini Rosso

15 ml Lime

10 ml Sugar syrup

20 ml freshly squeezed orange juice

10 ml Egg white

Method: Dry shake & normal shake

Glass: Sour Glass with ice

Garnish: Orange slice

GOLA NEGRONI

How a Gola brings all your favourite flavors and your childhood memories together, this Negroni Sorbet brings two of your favourite drinks Red wine sangria and Negroni with a fresh fruit twist.

20 ml each of Gin, Campari and Martini Rosso

60 ml Red wine Sangria made with fresh Mango, apple & orange.

Method: Turned into a sorbet using Liquid Nitrogen

Glass: Coupe Glass

Garnish: Chopped fruits

(It was a great pleasure for me to be associated with the event this year as well as to be the official podcast partner. The Drinks & Destinations Podcast which is India’s only podcast on drinks and travel available on iTunes,Sound Cloud, Audio Boom and other podcast apps has released a special episode on Negroni Week. To listen to the podcast click below the link.)