Antica Pesa's Classic Negroni
Pull up a seat next to the fireplace adjacent to the bar at Antica Pesa, the Williamsburg outpost of the famed restaurant in Rome's Trastevere neighborhood, and you may find yourself believing you are in Italy and not in hipster heaven.
Opened in Rome by the Panella family in 1922, Antica Pesa has expanded with its Brooklyn location (and a third restaurant in Doha, Qatar). The sleek 10-seat bar nestled within the 65-seat restaurant on Berry Street is the perfect perch for sipping fine Italian wines and signature cocktails while celeb-spotting.
The cocktail menu changes seasonally and currently includes a quintet of Negronis, versions of the classic Italian cocktail named for Count Camillo Negroni. The drink was invented when Negroni asked the bartender at Caffè Giacosa in Florence to alter his favorite cocktail, the Americano, to include gin rather than soda water to round out the vermouth and Campari.
While Antica Pesa's cocktail menu also includes seven signature cocktails like May 26th (Woodford Bourbon, Martini Gran Lusso Vermouth, Woodford cherry bitters, and Amarena Fabbri cherries), Berry Street Martini (Tito's Handmade Vodka, fresh raspberry purée, fresh lime juice, and simple syrup), and the Fig & Rum Old Fashioned (Ron Zacapa 23 Rum, fig purée, Amarena Fabbri cherries, and orange peel), don't miss the Classic Negroni.
The Panella family shared its Classic Negroni cocktail recipe with The Daily Meal.