Negroni Week 2019 will take place from 24 to 30 June 2019 and celebrates a special milestone – 100 years of the iconic apéritif cocktail’s bitter-sweet existence.
Negroni Week is back this year with a big bang, and for good reason too – it’s a full century since its accidental invention. Legend has it that Count Camillo Negroni had asked the bartender in his favourite bar to make his Americano stronger by swopping out the soda water for gin, thereby creating the gin, Campari and sweet red vermouth concoction we all know today as the Negroni. We’re pretty sure that Negroni wasn’t, uh, counting on his now eponymous tipple to become one of the most iconic drinks in cocktail menus worldwide, but here we are.
First started in May 2013 by Imbibe Magazine and presented by Campari, this year’s Negroni Week is the seventh-ever and the fifth to take place in Singapore. But Negroni Week is more than just about drinking negronis; it was set up as an international charity initiative for the bar community to give back to society. Now consider that Negroni Week in 2014 featured 1,300 bars from 18 countries across the world raising over $120,000 for various charities in just one week, to the participation of nearly 10,000 venues across 87 countries to raise an impressive total of $585,000 for charity in 2018, we can really see how it’s grown.
Count Negroni would have been proud.
“Campari is delighted to be the presenting sponsor of Negroni Week, partnering with Imbibe once again to bring the world together for a good cause, all the while toasting with a Negroni,” says Andrea Neri, Managing Director, Italian Icons, Gruppo Campari. “We have seen the success of our initiative grow so fast, and I cannot wait to see what 2019 has in store. It’s a special year for Campari, as we celebrate our signature serve and the 100 years of history.”
In Singapore, cocktail hounds can expect special interpretations of the classic Negroni from bars all across town for Negroni Week 2019. There were 70 Singapore bars participating last year; we’re pretty sure the number this year will be higher. Campari has also seen the first wave of submissions come in from top bars such as Tippling Club and The Old Man Singapore come in.
Over the next few weeks we’ll be trying out some of these Negroni creations; we’ll let you know which of them are going to be the worthy bitter-sweet reimagination of Count Negroni’s favourite drink just yet.
