Delight your senses with a floral and berry-forward French Negroni. Made with only 4 ingredients, this refreshingly bitter and complex cocktail makes you feel like you're enjoying each sip while gazing on the French Riviera with a baguette and cheese board nearby.
Nothing quite says “classic cocktail” like the negroni. This bitter (in the best way) gin cocktail has been experimented and played with for as long as it's been around.
This French negroni is my take on another favorite cocktail of mine, the white negroni. This variation includes notes of bergamot, lavender and blueberry - alongside the purple butterfly pea blossomed hue of Empress Gin it's truly a delight for the senses.
I recommend pairing this bitter cocktail with salty snacks and sweet treats. The complexities and bitter qualities will cut right through tomato and ricotta tartine and rosemary salted caramel macarons for dessert. Nothing quite says “summer” like bold flavors, colorful cocktails, and playful recipes!
⭐ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Aside from having a french inspired flavor palate and a pastel purple hue served in an iridescent rocks glass, this simple French negroni recipe is also:
- Made With Only 4 Basic Ingredients (or 5, if you’re feeling fancy and want to add a garnish!)
- Quick & Easy - Measure, pour, add ice, stir, and strain. The whole process takes 5 minutes or less!
- More Floral & Fruity Than A Traditional Negroni - Made with a delicious addition of bergamot, blueberry, and lavender notes
❓ French negroni vs. classic negroni
These two cocktails have three things in common: 1. Both are made with equal parts of three ingredients, 2. Each one features gin, and 3. They’re complex and bitter tasting.
A classic negroni is made with gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari while this French Negroni is made with gin, Luxardo Bitter Bianco, bergamot liqueur and a touch of blueberry lavender simple syrup.
My variation on the white negroni recipe helps to really take the berry and floral notes up a notch!
🍴Ingredients
A traditional white negroni recipe is made with equal parts gin, Suze, and Lilet Blanc. My version for a French Negroni, however, makes a few easy switches:
- Empress Gin - I love the flavor and hue that Empress Gin creates in this cocktail. Gin is the liquor of choice in most negroni variations but it’s sometimes replaced with vodka, mezcal, sparkling wine, whiskey, and cynar. If you want to replace the gin, I would recommend sticking to vodka, sparkling wine, or cynar.
- Luxardo Bitter Bianco - This is an aperitivo with forward floral notes and hints of citrus and herbaceous aromas.
- Bergamot Liqueur - The bottle is beautiful and the flavor added to this french negroni is truly divine. It’s refreshingly bitter, fruity and crisp.
- Blueberry Lavender Simple Syrup - A great way to amplify the berry and floral flavors of the French Riviera! Purchase this simple syrup, or easily make your own with the recipe noted below. If you're looking for an in-depth tutorial, head on over to my Simple Syrup infusions page!
📖 How to make a French negroni
Step 1: Mix. Add all of the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice & stir.
Step 2: Strain and serve. Strain the cocktail into a serving glass with ice, and enjoy!
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Chill the mixing glass to make sure the ingredients cool down without melting the ice too much.
- Add ice to the mixing glass last to prevent too much dilution.
- Use fresh, large ice cubes when serving to prevent premature dilution. An ice-filled rocks glass is the perfect glass of choice for this recipe.
- Don’t over-stir. Start with 20-30 seconds and taste the drink. If you want it to taste a little softer, stir for another 10 seconds. In total, stirred drinks shouldn’t be stirred for more than about 50 seconds or they’ll become overly diluted.
- Wanting to add a lovely garnish to add to your french negroni cocktail? An orange twist, orange peel, or lemon twist would be a great addition to your cocktail!
- Take a note from the popular negroni sbagliato and add a touch of soda water to the negroni for a french twist!
💭 Recipe FAQs
A French negroni is a complex cocktail with floral, herbaceous, fruity and refreshingly bitter flavors.
Stirring the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice will thoroughly chill the cocktail without diluting it. Shaking, on the other hand, will melt some of the ice and whip air into the cocktail. In the end, a shaken negroni will not have the same smooth qualities and some of the bitter flavors will be lost.
The most important rule is to use a gin that you enjoy sipping. The classic choice in a negroni is a juniper-forward gin because the earthy notes are complementary to the complexities in this cocktail.
More Delicious Cocktail Recipes
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French Negroni
Ingredients
- 1.5 Oz Empress Gin
- ¾ Oz Bergamot Liqueur
- ¾ Oz Maraschino Liqueur
- ¼ Oz Blueberry Lavender Simple Syrup , infuse with 1 tablespoon of culinary lavender
- Lemon garnish, optional
Instructions
- Add ingredients into a mixing glass with ice1.5 Oz Empress Gin, ¾ Oz Bergamot Liqueur, ¾ Oz Maraschino Liqueur, ¼ Oz Blueberry Lavender Simple Syrup
- Stir to both combine and chill ingredients
- Strain into serving glass with ice, garnish if desired and enjoy!Lemon garnish
Video
Notes
- What does a French negroni taste like? A French negroni is a complex cocktail with floral, herbaceous, fruity and refreshingly bitter flavors.
- Should you stir or shake the cocktail? Stirring the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice will thoroughly chill the cocktail without diluting it. Shaking, on the other hand, will melt some of the ice and whip air into the cocktail. In the end, a shaken negroni will not have the same smooth qualities and some of the bitter flavors will be lost.
- What kind of gin is best in a negroni? The most important rule is to use a gin that you enjoy sipping. The classic choice in a negroni is a juniper-forward gin because the earthy notes are complementary to the complexities in this cocktail.
Yasmin
How do I achieve that pretty iridescent effect? The drink looks different in the crystal mixer than in the glass w cube.
Emily Laurae
It's actually the cocktail cups that allow for the iridescent effect! I've linked them - I hope you enjoy!
Cathy James
In the ingredients it calls for Luxardo Bitter Bianco but the instructions note Luxardo Maraschino liqueur. Guessing it’s the Bianco but could you please clarify? I would love to make this!
Emily Laurae
Ooo thank you - good catch, it's Luxardo Bitter Bianco!