if you like the forbidden, make sure to find some barrel aged forbidden. the difference between young burgundy and mature. need both in the arsenal. amazing in an OF or manhattan.
alan - i’ve tried perhaps over 30 different MM bitters and to my palate, they are by far the best bitters on the market. inventive ingredients and flavors that are intense and pure. i’m no longer able to use ango, peychaud, etc. and yes, they last forever.
bitters are made on a base of a distilled spirit, usually neutral.
I haven’t tried it yet but I have two bottles at K&L that I need to pick up.
Made a Negroni sno-cone this weekend with Sipsmith overproof, Martelletti Vermouth Classico, Campari, and our Orange Sunshine (orange, fennel, saffron) bitters. It was quite refreshing on a hot Phoenix afternoon.
I’m not a fan of Carpano in a Negroni. For me, the vanilla completely overwhelms gin botanicals. Works great for me in a Boulevardier though.
Carpano Classico and Carpano Antica are different things of course. I tend to like fresher fruit flavours in a Negroni so prefer the Carpano Classico. Much cheaper too.
OK, just bought a sampling, including the Aperitivo you recommended above.
I wonder about longevity. The flavor compounds are extracted natural products, and presumably don’t last forever. In Gin production, the botanical flavors are going through a distillation process, so have already been exposed to heat, but with bitters (I assume), the flavor compounds are just infused at room temperature.
Equal parts:
Few Barrel Aged Gin (or The Botanist Gin, if more traditional)
St. George Bruto Americano
Cocchi Vermouth
nothing lasts forever.
the bitters will outlive you.
try and enjoy them while you’re both still alive.
Have the barrel aged Forbidden landed in the market? I had a couple of the regular muled over to me from the US. Have been obsessed with them since I was getting them in the test batches he started making 
Yes, it came to K&L a couple months ago and is still in stock.
Not for Negronis purists but I just saw this today on a foodie board. It’s a frozen Negroni with the juice of half an orange added and extra gin (presumably to maintain octane).
My go to is Crater Lake Gin + Campari + Carpano + Ice + Orange Peel (from the tree in the back yard). Equal parts booze. I tried a Mezcal negroni in SF at a bar in the tenderloin and that was interesting but didn’t beat the real thing for me. A couple bars in Phoenix do barrel aged negronis and boulevardiers which I think are amazing. The barrel aging tends to mellow out the bitterness of the campari.
My best so far:
Equal parts: Gin Mare (new in Canada via Spain… rosemary, thyme, olive, and basil. It’s divine) Antica Formula and Campari.
1 large cube and a small orange peel rubbed on rim then in.
…and YES, it should definitely rate it’s own thread.
Thanks for this!
Interesting sounding Gin. I will have to look for it in the stores in Arizona.
Please do! We love it for Negroni’s.
Would love to hear your opinion.
I’m having one now with Bombay Sapphire East, Quady Vya, and Gran Classico, and it’s super tasty.
What proportions Craig?
I started with 1:1:1 but it was a little sweet so I added some more gin.
I’ll try the Gran Classico. I have some Matthiasson vermouth I’ve been using. I’ve also been adding a dose of pomegranate juice, which is a kind of natural bitter.