A pale, golden take on the Negroni that trades Campari for gentian-bitter Suze and sweet vermouth for citrusy, herbaceous Lillet Blanc, leaving gin to anchor an equal-measure stir. It keeps the original's bitter backbone but drinks brighter and drier, served up and cold in a coupe where an expressed grapefruit twist lifts the aroma over the earthy gentian.
Garnish: Grapefruit Peel
Stirred · Coupe · Up
add
Combine the gin, Lillet Blanc, and Suze in a mixing glass with ice.
stir
Stir until well-chilled and properly diluted.
strain
Strain into a chilled coupe.
express
Express a grapefruit peel over the surface to release its oils.
garnish
Drop the grapefruit peel into the glass.
The most repeated story sets its birth in Bordeaux in 2001, where London bartender Wayne Collins, visiting for Vinexpo alongside Nick Blacknell of Plymouth Gin, is said to have rebuilt the Negroni from nothing but local ingredients. That account is widely told but rests on lore rather than documented record, and no creator is formally credited. The same tale has Audrey Saunders later carrying the drink to American bars. Today the gin, Lillet Blanc and Suze trio is catalogued among the recognized offshoots of the Negroni.