White Negroni

The White Negroni keeps the Negroni's architecture and swaps its palette. Suze, a French gentian aperitif, takes Campari's bittering role; Lillet Blanc, an aromatised white wine, replaces the sweet vermouth. What emerges is a Negroni in pale gold — bitter still, but lighter, with a honeyed, floral, faintly grapefruit-pith character.

Bordeaux, 2001

The White Negroni was invented by the British bartender Wayne Collins in 2001, while working a French drinks exhibition in Bordeaux. Asked to present a Negroni built from French ingredients, Collins replaced the Italian Campari and vermouth with two French bottles — Suze and Lillet Blanc — and named the result for its pale colour.

It has since become one of the most widely adopted cocktails of the modern era: a "modern classic" in the truest sense of the phrase — young enough to have a known author, established enough that no bar list needs to explain it.

Gin, Suze, Lillet

The White Negroni is usually built spirit-forward rather than equal parts. Suze is intensely bitter — far more piercing, ounce for ounce, than Campari — so it is used with a lighter hand. Lillet Blanc brings the sweetness and body, gently honeyed, that holds the drink together. Gin leads, as it does in the original.

Suze: Gentian, Not Orange

Where Campari bitters with herbs and citrus, Suze bitters with gentian root — an earthy, vegetal, almost mineral bitterness. It is the soul of the drink, and there is no true substitute; Salers, another gentian aperitif, is the closest stand-in. A lemon twist, not orange, finishes it — the brighter citrus oil suits this paler, drier profile.

The Negroni Family