How to Make a Fall Take on a Gin Cocktail

The Autumn Negroni is a Negroni intensified. Bigger. Drier. It takes a cocktail that is layered, bitter, and boozy, and dramatically increases all three of those measures. It’s what would happen if a standard Negroni were cast in a superhero movie and had six months to get into the best shape of its life—it is angular and imposing, a significant force.

That it is also elegant is something of a magic trick, and worth dwelling on. The Autumn Negroni is, like a normal Negroni, made of gin, sweet vermouth and Campari, but then also adds Cynar, Fernet Branca, Orange Bitters, and Peychaud’s Bitters. If seeing this list of ingredients makes you skeptical, I’ll say I’m with you, or certainly was when I first read it on a menu in late 2011. The standard Negroni is already bitter and complex—why would you add four additional vectors of bitterness? It’s difficult to make a seven-ingredient cocktail that has clarity and elegance as is, and one might reasonably believe that once you have Campari, Cynar, Fernet Branca, and Orange Bitters, a dash of Peychaud’s would just be a gratuitous waste of everyone’s time.

I should have known better. The Autumn Negroni was created at the neo-speakeasy the Violet Hour, which has, since they opened in 2007, been among Chicago’s most famous and excellent cocktail bars. The Violet Hour is a frequent finalist at the Spirited Awards, won a James Beard Award for Outstanding Beverage Program in 2015, and lead bartender Toby Maloney would go on to write a book, The Bartender’s Manifesto, which itself won a James Beard Award in 2023. They are, in short, pros. When I saw the Autumn Negroni on their menu, I couldn’t figure out how the drink would be balanced (much less avoid being redundant and punishing), so I ordered it.

How wrong I was. This is the cocktail that opened my mind to what was possible, that showed me that liqueurs can layer like a fall outfit, each shining for its moment in the sun before peeling away. The bitters in the Autumn Negroni strip away individually and at different moments, yielding waves of flavors that stretch the finish out as long as it’ll go. First, the sweetness of the amari mixes with the gin’s juniper and Peychaud’s slight anise edge, followed by the bittersweet Campari and the brightness of the orange bitters, but right when the Campari would turn rusty bitter that quarter ounce of Fernet Branca prickles up all peppermint and menthol, only to be batted back down by the long, earthy finish of the Cynar. It’s like a relay race, each ingredient holding the baton for a moment before handing it off to another. It really is remarkable.

The Autumn Negroni isn’t in Maloney’s book or the bar’s website. The only reason I know it is because I had the good fortune to order one, fall heedlessly in love with it, find out the recipe, and proceed to proselytize about it from behind the bar for the subsequent 13 years. I wouldn’t make it for everyone—it’s an order of magnitude sharper than something like an Aperol Spritz and boozier than something like an Americano—but among drinkers unintimidated by that description, the Autumn Negroni always delivers. It’s the perfect drink for a November evening, perfect for brisk nights, and, staring down both a time change and a national election, mercifully both strong and bitter, with enough complexity and elegance to hold your attention for as long as you wish to consider it.

Autumn Negroni

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir well for 15 to 20 seconds. Strain up into a coupe or cocktail glass and garnish with an orange peel.

NOTES ON INGREDIENTS

Gin: The Violet Hour called for Beefeater, and after a brief test of otherwise identical cocktails with a half dozen different gins, I can confirm that I liked Beefeater the best. As always, there might be a better gin out there for this (there are so many gins it seems statistically inevitable) but among the 6 common ones I tried, I thought Beefeater had the best balance and character. In fact, all of my tinkering and sampling ended up just confirming the original specs and brands. 

I will note also only that I originally tasted this when Beefeater was a 47 percent gin, but in the last five years the lousy bastards that sell it have reduced to 44 percent, and then again reduced to 40 percent. The flavors are essentially the same but note that I tasted this with a held-over bottle of 44 percent Beefeater, so if all you can find is the lower 40 percent one, I believe it’ll still be great, but your mileage may vary. 

Vermouth: Carpano Antica is what they used, and what I liked best. I thought maybe a light vermouth like Dolin might help mitigate sweetness and help complexity shine but it was an immediate no. You can use other big and bold vermouths if you want to (Cocchi Vermouth di Torino was pretty good) but in my tests Carpano was best, and what I’ll continue to insist on using.

Orange Bitters: The Violet Hour called for Angostura Orange, which I also like here. In fact, there’s so much going on, I liked it with Regan’s, Fee’s, and my house blend as well, so feel free to use whatever you like, just remember to not go too heavy. Orange bitters can’t make the drink, but they can screw it up if you add too much. One dash, please.

Quantities: The ratio above tastes amazing, but it is fairly capacious 4 oz. build before dilution, to say nothing of its strength: Even with a 40 percent gin, the Autumn Negroni is still the equivalent 3.1 oz. of vodka per drink. Feel free to halve the recipe (noting that an eighth ounce of Fernet and half-dashes of bitters can be tricky to measure) or, if you like, you can make a batch and put it in a bottle of its own and pour however much or little of it as you want per serving. Alcohol, sugar, and water are miscible, which means once it’s mixed, it’ll stay mixed until the end of time.