Low-Alcohol Negroni

Some of my favorite cocktail menus are broken out by spirit-forward, low-ABV, and nonalcoholic drinks. Sure, I could do the mental math to figure out roughly how much booze is in my drink and better pace myself throughout the course of a night, but there’s a special kind of hospitality that goes into this kind of simplification, and I’m all for it. 

When I last went to dinner at HAGS, a cozy, endlessly welcoming restaurant in New York City’s East Village, I was especially excited to explore the wine list curated by co-owner Camille Lindsley, but couldn’t say no to her offer of a “low-ABV Negroni” to start the meal. Served in a delicate coupe glass instead of the standard rocks glass, the drink looked just like a regular Negroni. I learned that instead of the usual gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari combination, the HAGS team made use of Negroni Insorti, a bottled, less-boozy version of the cocktail made by the Cappelletti family — you might be familiar with Cappelletti, the red bitter aperitif cousin of Campari and Aperol — in Alto Adige, Italy. Topped with Lambrusco rosé, this fizzy, bittersweet drink speaks to Negroni Sbagliato devotées and fans of the classic cocktail alike — plus, the coupe glass steps things up a notch.

I’ve also enjoyed Negroni Insorti on the rocks without the addition of sparkling wine, and have found that it’s surprisingly easy to source this bottle. While many bottled cocktails tend to be too sweet, full of artificial flavoring, or simply not as good as the actual thing, I find that Negroni Insorti is a hit with purists and picky drinkers. Think of this bottle as a perfect housewarming gift for the classic cocktail lover in your life, or a way to make a Negroni surprisingly sessionable. And don’t forget the Lambrusco! — Oset Babür-Winter