Sometimes the old tricks are the best ones, that’s why they’re old. They’ve been around the block. They’re tried and true. Call ’em all the names you want, but they last because they still work despite how decrepit they are. Hey, kind of like me.

One of the big ones on the block is the old strawberry Negroni trick. There’s very little smoke and mirrors going on here. Simply take some good strawberries and throw them in a jar with a good amount of Campari. No measuring required. In just a few hours it’s worthy. Let it go for a couple of days if you wish. It’s one hell of a parlor trick. I made one of these for Auntie last night and she loved it even though she doesn’t like Negronis. We call that “converting the lost” in the business. When you get some schmuck who has a preconceived notion of a spirit, usually rum, and they taste something that blows their doors off.

Hey, that’s the magic of bartending. It’s why our job is so malleable. I’ve said before that bartenders are like short order cooks who can make you 99% of what you ask for right on the spot. This was fully on display over the weekend. I had the opportunity to riff a bit for a chef friend as well as my fave regulars, L&J. The result was a crazy concoction, almost a dessert. An egg white, Grand Marnier, lime juice, and strawberry honey whip (via isi and N20) over the top of two ounces of strawberry rum punch and a quarter ounce of spiced O.F.T.D. in a small coupe. Fuck it. Yeah, I torched it and sent it. A fevered, sweltering dream. Something I would never put on the menu, but something cool I cold bust out for the occasional VIP. Yeah, that’s the beauty of what I do, what we do. That’s why good bars are the shit. They can pull it out of their ass on occasion. Even a broken clock…

Anyway, I’ll stop blowing smoke up my own ass and provide the home recipe for the strawberry Negroni.

Strawberry Negroni (Home Recipe Version)

1 Glug Sweet Vermouth (I use Carpano Antica)

2 Glugs Strawberry Campari

2 Glugs Gin (I use Nikka)

Stir with your finger and garnish with whatever citrus you have. All I had last night was lemon, so I went double peel and down the hatch.