You’ve likely tried a Negroni, but how about a MonteNegroni? It follows the same formula – gin, vermouth, liqueur – but swaps Campari for Amaro Montenegro. Here, we’ve done the same, but added sparkling wine and soda water to create a refreshing Spritz with plenty of complexity.
It’s the amaro that gives this cocktail its unique flavour. Hailing from the Italian city of Bologna, this bitter liqueur was created in the late 19th century by Stanislao Cobianchi. It was originally named Elisir Lungavita, but Stanislao changed the name to celebrate the marriage of Princess Elena of Montenegro to Prince Vittorio Emanuele III. The recipe contains 40 different botanicals, which come together to create a sweet, citrusy and herbaceous liqueur that go perfectly with gin and vermouth.
It’s the addition of our bubbly ingredients that transform this into a Spritz. The 'spritz', generally speaking, is a kind of cocktail made popular in northern Italy, particularly in the area around Venice. The style dates back to the 19th century, when vast swathes of Europe were ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including northern Italy. The soldiers who travelled south to Italy from Austria found the local white wine to be far stronger than the beer they were used to back home, so they were forced to dilute the wine using bubbly water. The result? A refreshing spritz style of drink that also happens to be one of the easiest cocktails to mix up.
