Rye, stirred
Little Italy
Barline 2,Q,h,cc
The code is the shorthand off my printed menu; the Key tab decodes every letter.
- 2 oz Rye
- 3/4 oz Sweet vermouth
- 1/2 oz Cynar
Stir with ice until cold, then strain.
Coupe, cherry.
Taste
Two ounces of rye to three-quarters of sweet vermouth, so the whiskey leads. Half an ounce of Cynar is artichoke bitter in the Campari slot. Stirred, coupe, cherry. A rye Negroni, leaner, no gin.
History
Audrey Saunders built the Little Italy at Pegu Club in New York in 2005: two ounces of rye, three-quarters sweet vermouth, half an ounce of Cynar, cherry. It is a Manhattan with Cynar in place of bitters, or a rye Negroni with the gin dropped. Robert Simonson treats it as a modern classic. Saunders's pour and the cherry are unchanged here.
Same shape, other bottles
The Negroni family, with the bottle that changed.
- Rabo de Galocachaça for rye
- Cin-Cyngin for rye
- Cardinalegin and dry vermouth for rye and sweet vermouth
- Boulevardierbourbon and Campari for rye and Cynar
- Brazilian Negronicachaça and Campari for rye and Cynar
- Kingston Negroniaged rum and Campari for rye and Cynar
This is one drink on my home bar's menu. Tick the bottles you own and the menu lists which of all 185 drinks they pour.