White Negroni Recipe
A golden, all-French answer to the Negroni: gin with gentian liqueur in place of Campari and Lillet Blanc in place of vermouth — floral, earthy and bitter.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 21%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Gin30 ml (1 oz)
- Gentian liqueur30 ml (1 oz)
- Lillet Blanc30 ml (1 oz)
How to Make It
- Stir the gin, gentian liqueur and Lillet Blanc with ice.
- Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass.
- Express a lemon peel over the drink and drop it in.
Garnish
Lemon peel
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Gin
- London dry gin: juniper up front, citrus and coriander behind it. Brand really does show here — Beefeater is sharp, Hendrick's floral, Tanqueray juniper-heavy.
- Gentian liqueur
- A liqueur made from gentian root (Suze, Salers). Its bitterness is drier and earthier than Campari's, and it adds no red colour — so the drink looks different too.
The Story
British bartender Wayne Collins put it together in 2001 during the Vinexpo trade fair in Bordeaux, using the French bottles he could find locally.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a White Negroni mixed?
- It is stirred and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a White Negroni?
- Roughly 21% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a White Negroni be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a White Negroni hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
759 recipes in your pocket
Cocktails and mocktails from 55 countries — ingredients, steps and the story behind each drink. Works offline too.
Similar recipes
Collections
Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.