Philip Castleton
An improvement on the perfection that is the Negroni? Certainly something worth trying.
“I was just experimenting one day, trying to come up with cocktails to use some of the interesting products we have behind the bar,” says Pilu at Freshwater sommelier Lara Caraturo. “Putting them in a cocktail turns over the stock and highlights something a little different.” An avowed fan of gin, Caraturo says she’s not exactly sure how it came to be replaced in this new recipe with grappa from a bottle of Enoteca Sileno’s Andrea da Ponte amarena cherries in grappa di prosecco. “A Negroni is not a Negroni without the Campari or the vermouth, so I guess it seemed the only option. I try to keep our cocktails very Italian, and use as many Italian products as possible; gin, wonderful as it is, doesn’t have an Italian bone in its body.” Pilu at Freshwater, end of Moore Rd, Freshwater, NSW, (02) 9938 3331.
PILU’S CHERRY NEGRONI
Mix 20ml each of Campari, Cinzano Rosso sweet vermouth and cherry grappa in a rocks glass or tumbler over ice. Garnish with grappa cherries and serve.
