Part of the “Negroni Sessions” menu at Dante, a 104-year-old restaurant in Greenwich Village, this striking blue drink has roots in two different Italian cocktail classics: the classic Negroni and the Angelo Azzurro, or “Blue Angel.” The latter drink, which resembles a blue Cosmo, was created in the 1980s and developed a following in Italy’s late-night bars and nightclubs during the 1990s and early 2000s; some have posited that the drink was a symbol of Rome’s LGBTQ+ community at the time.
“That original recipe is quite different from what ours is,” notes Linden Pride, principal at Dante. “Our recipe is a riff on the Negroni, which is more true to Dante’s house style,” but still nods to the “fun, tongue-in-cheek history of the Angelo Azzurro.”
Bottle Decoder
This drink is made with three bottles that look similar, but each performs a different role:
- Mancino Secco is a crisp dry vermouth
- Lillet Blanc is a slightly sweet aperitif wine
- Luxardo Bitter Bianco is a white bitter—akin to Campari, but without the red hue.
In a pinch, you could double up on either the dry vermouth or the Lillet (or sub one ounce of white vermouth for both), but the end result won’t be as complex. The white bitter is the one non-negotiable. Alternatives to Luxardo include Suze or Salers.
Dante’s Negroni Azzuro
Courtesy Linden Pride, Principal, Dante, New York City; Instagram: @dantenewyorkcity
Ingredients
- 1 ounce gin, preferably Tanqueray No. Ten
- 1 ounce dry vermouth, preferably Mancino Secco
- ½ ounce Lillet Blanc
- ½ ounce Luxardo Bianco
- ¼ ounce blue curaçao
- 3 dashes lemon bitters
- Lemon peel, baby’s breath for garnish
Instructions
Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a Nick and Nora glass. Twist lemon peel over the top of the glass to express the essential oils, then discard the peel. Garnish with a sprig of baby’s breath.
This article originally appeared in the August/September 2023 issue of Wine Enthusiast magazine. Click here to subscribe today!
Last Updated: August 31, 2023
