NEGRONI DE CHIHUAHUA
The Italian classic rebuilt around the desert spirit. Campari, sweet vermouth, and a quarter ounce more sotol than the rules allow.
INGREDIENTS
- 1.25 oz Los Magos Sotol
- 1 oz Campari
- 1 oz Sweet Vermouth
- 2 drops Aztec Chocolate bitters
A negroni is gin, Campari and sweet vermouth in equal parts. Swap the gin for sotol and the drink changes underneath. The botanical sharpness softens, something earthier comes through, and a faint smoke sits below the bitterness.
This is the drink we hand people first. If you've never had sotol and you're not sure where to start, start here. Campari and sweet vermouth are familiar enough to hold the frame, and the sotol does something to them gin can't.
What you need
- 1.25 oz Los Magos Sotol Blanco
- 1 oz Campari
- 1 oz sweet vermouth
- 2 drops Aztec chocolate bitters
- Orange slice, to garnish
How to make it
- Combine the sotol, Campari, sweet vermouth and bitters in a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir about 30 seconds, until the outside of the glass frosts.
- Strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube.
- Garnish with an orange slice.
Stir it. Shaking aerates the drink and clouds it, and a negroni should come out clear and heavy.
Why sotol works here
Sotol comes from the Desert Spoon plant, which grows wild across the Chihuahuan Desert and takes around fifteen years to mature. It isn't agave, so it isn't tequila or mezcal, though it sits in the same part of the shelf.
Our Blanco gets roasted in a volcanic rock-lined pit over mesquite, oak and poplar, then ferments in open air and goes through three distillations in copper. The pit is where the smoke comes from. It's subtle enough that most people read it as depth.
In a negroni that matters. Campari is aggressively bitter and sweet vermouth is aggressively sweet. Gin usually cuts between the two. Sotol settles underneath them instead, and the drink lands rounder and a little savory with a longer finish.
The extra quarter ounce is deliberate. An even 1:1:1 build buries the sotol, and at that point you may as well use gin.
Two things people get wrong
Cheap vermouth. Sweet vermouth is a third of this drink and it oxidizes within weeks of opening. Keep it in the fridge and replace it more often than feels reasonable. If your negroni tastes flat, it's almost always the vermouth.
Small ice. One large cube melts slowly. A handful of small cubes waters the drink down before you're halfway through it.
Variations
Sbagliato. Drop the sotol to .5 oz and top with prosecco.
Reserva negroni. Build it with the 6 Year Reserva. Six years in tequila barrels brings vanilla and clove that play against the Campari, and it lands closer to a boulevardier.
Mezcal split. Half sotol, half mezcal if you want the smoke out front.
Questions we get
Can I use any sotol?
Most sotol on the market is additive-free, though not all of it is. Sweetened spirits fight with Campari. Look for 100% sotol with nothing added.
What's the difference between sotol and tequila?
Tequila comes from blue agave in western Mexico. Sotol comes from the Desert Spoon plant in the north. Sotol runs more herbaceous and less sweet.
What proof is Los Magos Blanco?
38% alcohol by volume, 76 proof.
Make it with the bottle it was built for.
Los Magos Sotol Blanco, 750ml. Wild-harvested and triple distilled, with no additives.
