Paleo Retiree writes:

For the last month I’ve been making a close study of the 1920s-era cocktail called the Negroni. (Nothing wrong with being systematic, is there? Besides, as a Johnny-Come-Lately to the artisanal cocktail trend, I’ve got to do what I need to do to catch up.) It’s one of the more startling of the classic cocktails: medicinal, bitter, edgy … And notoriously hard for some people to learn to enjoy. Fans of fruity mixed drinks are urged to stay far, far away. But I’ve grown to love a good Negroni, and I enjoy mixing the drink too. Part of the fun: pouring Negronis for friends and enjoying the twisted facial expressions that usually result. “You like this?” many of them ask. Why, yes I do, and very much so.

There’s no real point to ordering a Negroni at a clueless bar. Though it’s one of the classic drinks, many everyday bartenders barely seem to have heard of it. At one otherwise smart-seeming business-style bar where I ordered a Negroni, the bartender sneaked away and consulted a cocktail recipe book before mixing my cocktail for me. Clueless bartenders don’t just not-know how to mix the drink; they don’t know what the point of the drink is. They follow the recipe, put the glass in front of you, then stare at you with curiosity as you take your first sip of it.

But, after some months away, the Question Lady and I are now back in NYC, where the cocktail renaissance has been in full swing for a longish while. If New York’s virtuosic mixologists don’t know what to do with a Negroni, then no one does. So the other evening I dragged my wife off to Elsa, a well-respected little place in Alphabet City (that’d be the East East Village to some of you). On their Classic Cocktail list they offered a Negroni described as “barrel-aged,” something I’d never run across before. The basic elements of the Negroni are there — gin, sweet vermouth, Campari. But instead of being mixed in front of your eyes, they’re pre-mixed; and then the mix is aged in a charred oak barrel for a month. When a customer orders the drink, the barrel-aged mix is poured over ice — as you can see in my snapshot, the mixologists at Elsa take some serious care with their ice — and an orange slice.

The result is a Negroni and then some. The time in the barrel takes some of the bitter edge off of the Campari, it plays down some of the botanical aromas of the gin, and it muddies up the whole glass with notes of molasses and smoke. It’s so distinctive a twist on the classic Negroni that, as pleased as I was with what I was sipping, I found myself wondering if it shouldn’t go by some name other than “Negroni.” But, nah: it’s great — mellow, and with a touch of non-sugary sweetness, yet still something that’ll put hair on your chest … It’s closely-enough related to the classic Negroni to deserve the name. Bonus pleasure at Elsa, where we’ll definitely be returning soon: a staff of smart and enthusiastic bartenders eager to discuss their concoctions as well as happy to share their knowledge.

Here are a couple of views of Elsa. We showed up as the front door was being unlocked; by the time we left, the joint was starting to hop. I hear that the scene can get beyond lively on weekends.

Related

• A visit with Scott Schneider, the general manager of Elsa.
• I’m eager to read this new ebook by Vince Keenan, my favorite cocktail blogger.
• Anthony Bourdain makes a Negroni. Tony unloads some caustic/sardonic Bourdainisms and shares one key piece of Negroni-drinker wisdom: never have more than two.
• Giada De Laurentiis proposes an “Herb and Orange Negroni” based on vodka instead of gin and relying on a lot of orange juice. Something tells me that Giada, deep down, doesn’t really care for Negronis.
• Of the inexpensive London-dry style gins that I’ve been pouring during the last month, the one that’s made me happiest is from Trader Joe’s: Rear Admiral Joseph’s London Dry Gin. As usual, I’m late to the party: Bon Appétit called it the “best deal in gindom” way back in 2007. It’s not a gin to highlight, but if you’re looking for a gin that plays well with other ingredients without doing too much damage to your wallet, it’s a hard one to beat.
• Here’s a Camper English bulletin on what’s trendy in the cocktail world now.