- Negroni Week is once again upon us with 2024 shaping up to be Australia’s biggest iteration yet.
- This year, the annual event is taking place from September 16th to 22nd with hundreds of venues across the country getting involved.
- To find your closest Negroni Week venue (outside of Sydney and Melbourne), head to Negroni Week online.
Mondays are, at the best of times, a pain in the posterior. But we’re betting this one will prove an exception to that rule — because today, Negroni Week returns to Australia.
RELATED: The Only Negroni Recipe You Need To Know
Taking place nationwide from September 16th to 22nd, inveterate cocktail lovers already know the drill. Think hundreds of venues in Sydney, Melbourne, and further afield where drinkers will get to sample a smorgasbord of classic and/or signal Negroni-style drinks.
Better still, as has been the custom since Campari started Negroni Week in 2013, a portion of all sales proceeds from participating venues will go to Slow Food: a global organisation of activists, currently present in 160+ countries, committed to ensuring “access to good, clean and fair food.”
We’ll drink to that.
Where To Drink In Melbourne For Negroni Week 2024
Studio Amaro, Windsor
Windsor’s cavernous Italian eatery — consisting of a restaurant and Italo Disco-focused underground bar — is getting into the Negroni Week spirit with two twists on the beloved Campari aperitivo.
Classicists will find the traditional version ($21), made with Archie Rose gin, to be a reliable port of call. While the Sbagliato ($22), topped up with lashings of prosecco and sparkling water, is an excellent riff on a hot summer’s day.
New Quarter, Richmond
The Viet-inspired venue, from the crack operators at Commune Group, has opted to craft a Negroni recipe that is peak Australiana. The kicker? There isn’t even any Campari in it.
Fittingly dubbed the ‘Native’ ($26) this locally led recipe is concocted out of Dart Table gin, Marionette bitter curacao, and Maidenii’s best-selling sweet vermouth.
Lona Misa, South Yarra
Inside the signature restaurant at Ovolo South Yarra, drinkers will find a trio of recipes being hit with the Negroni Week spotlight.
For a time-honoured variation, try the ‘Negroni Blanco’ ($20), which captures the “same sophisticated essence” of the eponymous aperitivo, albeit with a twist of Bergamot.
For a “fresh, modern edge,” the Nick & Rouse ($20) blends a classic spirited base with botanicals of rose, plum, and goat weed. Order a Café Rojo ($20) if you’re in the mood for the ultimate nightcap: full of robust coffee liqueur, in place of the traditional sweet vermouth.
Old Palm Liquor, Brunswick East
Another Melburnian institution (best described as an amalgam of a chophouse, wine bar, and 80s woodshed), Old Palm Liquor hasn’t necessarily teed up any promotional drinks for the duration of Negroni Week 2024.
That said, the house version ($21) packs plenty of punch, and is well worth diving into if you’re heading in for lunch/dinner over the next week.
True to the whole restaurant’s sharp left-field approach, especially on the drinks front, the OPL-fied Negroni is flavoured with vermouth from fellow local outfit Saison and ‘Venticinque’ bitters (an all-natural alternative to Campari).
Where To Drink In Sydney For Negroni Week 2024
a’Mare, Barangaroo
A recurring favourite of Team Boss Hunting, a’Mare has chosen to ring in Negroni Week in a distinctly on-brand way: courtesy of its ‘Campari and Citrus’ ($35) offering. This week, the venue will serve a range of both classic and original Negroni-style drinks in traditional Campari soda bottles.
Presented in the brand’s distinctive conical chalices, they’re poured tableside into chilled glasses — accompanied by a unique snack that Head Chef Alessandro Pavoni has whipped up just for the occasion.
The only thing better than an icy-cold Negroni? One accompanied by blood orange jelly, evidently.
Gowings, Sydney CBD
QT Sydney‘s buzzy signature restaurant remains a best-in-class option after a long day spent beating the city pavement — or before a big night out at the State Theatre.
For this edition of Negroni Week Australia, the CBD bolthole continues to offer both a ‘Classic’ ($24) and ‘Luxe’ ($36) incarnation of the Campari-fuelled cocktail. The big distinction lies in what mixers are used. The latter, for instance, is built around Monkey 47 gin and artisanal small-batch vermouth from Oscar 697.
Barbetta, Paddington
Paddington’s one-stop shop for all things la dolce vita, Barbetta is getting in on this week’s gin and vermouth-soaked festivities with not one, but two themed Negronis: the ‘Coffee’ and ‘Barbetta.’
Of course, historical riffs on the drink, like the much memed Sbagliato, can be ordered upon request. What’s more: until 22nd September, any of the most popular Negroni variations (e.g. the classic, Sbagliato, or aforementioned ‘Coffee’ and ‘Barbetta’) will be offered at a flat “special price.”
You know what to do. Run, don’t walk.
Bar Conte, Surry Hills
Frequently described as Sydney’s first “dedicated Negroni bar,” Conte is the venue to make a beeline for when you have a powerful thirst for all things gin, vermouth, and Italian bitters.
Of all the bars we’ve opted to include in our Negroni Week Australia shortlist, we can comfortably say that this one has the most exhaustive menu of Negronis we’ve seen anywhere in the country.
Including historical variants like the ‘Cardinale’ ($26), and the bar’s own concoctions, you’re looking at 21 Negroni-style drinks all up. Meaning that even after the dust settles on this week’s celebrations, you’ve got plenty of deliciousness to work your way through.
