You Have Four More Days to Drink Negronis for Charity

We’re advocates of starting dinner (or, hey, lunch — we won’t judge) with a civilized negroni, a crisp and bittersweet blend of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. We’re advocates of having a couple more negronis after that, too, and not just because they make particularly good patio sippers this time of year. This week is Negroni Week, see, and even if you despise made up food and drink holidays, you should partake in this one: Through Sunday, bars across the world are taking the proceeds from the negronis they serve and donating them to charity.

Here’s a little primer on the cocktail to wet your whistle: The drink originated in Italy at the beginning of the 20th century; per the San Francisco Chronicle, one Count Negroni asked a bartender to nix the strength-diluting soda water in an Americano and add gin instead. The tipple spread throughout the world, and you can now find it in just about any bar.

Theo Lieberman, head bartender of Milk & Honey (30 East 23rd Street), says about 80 percent of the cocktails he drinks are negronis — he often sips one at the end of a long night. “There are two schools of thought on how to make a classic negroni,” says Lieberman. “Some people like to put it in a mixing glass, stir it with ice, and strain it over fresh ice. We don’t stir before. We build it right in the glass and finish with a twist.”

He starts by pouring an ounce of sweet vermouth into a rocks glass, adds an ounce of Campari, and tops it with an ounce of gin. Then he adds a large cube of ice, stirs the mixture and garnishes the drink with a fat orange twist. Using a large twist is important, he says — he dislikes seeing small twists in drinks.

Lieberman also created the Last Call, a twist on the negroni that won a cocktail contest earlier this week. He took inspiration from his own shift drinks, marrying what he should be drinking (something refreshing and soothing) and what he actually drinks (a beer and a shot). The result is a citrus-tinged beer cocktail that you could pound on your porch all summer long.

Here’s his recipe:
The Last Call
by Theo Lieberman

3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce cane syrup
1 ounce dry vermouth
1/2 ounce Appleton rum
1/2 ounce Campari.

Shake and strain over ice in a long glass. Top with Dale’s Pale Ale.

Ideally, you’ll go order that drink at Milk & Honey, and maybe let Lieberman and his cohorts craft a couple more variations on the Italian cocktail. Milk & Honey’s proceeds go to Camp Sunshine, a rehabilitation facility for kids with life-threatening illnesses; each bar had the freedom to choose its own charity.

Dozens of bars across New York are participating in Negroni Week. Hit the next page to see where you should order a negroni — and what cause you’ll be supporting.

And check out the gin botanical-infused orange mousse with negroni pearls, vermouth foam, and negroni sorbet at Saxon + Parole, and a negroni crack pie from Butter & Scotch at Smorgasburg.
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Abboccato Italian Kitchen, 136 West 55th Street, UrbanArts Partnership
ACME Downstairs, 9 Great Jones Street, Gharsitamutu.org (House with Heart)
Algonquin Hotel Lounge, 59 West 44th Street, Breast Cancer Research Foundation
Ambrose Hall, 18 Fulton Street, Old Seaport New York
American Cut, 363 Greenwich Street, Robin Hood Foundation
Amor y Amargo, 443 East 6th Street, The Barmans Fund
Analogue, 19 West 8th Street, Food Bank For New York City
Anfora, 34 Eighth Avenue, Heritage Radio Network
Antibes Bistro, 112 Suffolk Street, Bowery Mission
Bar Felice, 1591 First Avenue, Coney Island Recovers
Barn Joo, 894 Broadway, Plant with Purpose
Bleecker Kitchen & Co., 643 Broadway, PS3: The Charrette School
Bonnie Vee, 17 Stanton Street, BARC Shelter
Bookmarks, 299 Madison Avenue, Michael J Fox Foundation
Botanic Lab, 86 Orchard Street, A Life Story Foundation
Carroll Place, 157 Bleecker Street, Childhood Diabetes
Casa Lever, 390 Park Avenue, Coney Island Recovers
Covo Restaurant, 701 West 135th Street, ASPCA
Covo Trattoria Pizzeria, 791 West 135th Street, ASPCA
DA MIKELE by Luzzo’s, 275 Church Street, Food Bank For New York City
DADDY-O, 44 Bedford Street, Autism Up
David Burke Fabrick, 47 West 38th Street, A Life Story Foundation (ALS)
David Burke Kitchen, 23 Grand Street, A Life Story Foundation (ALS)
dell’anima, 38 Eighth Avenue, Heritage Radio Network
Dram, 177 South 4th Street, Brooklyn, New York City Coalition Against Hunger
Dylan Prime, 62 Laight Street, Wellness in the Schools
Employees Only, 510 Hudson Street, Food Bank For New York City
Felice 64, 1166 First Avenue, Coney Island Recovers
Felice 83, 493 First Avenue, Coney Island Recovers
Felice Gold St, 15 Gold Street, Coney Island Recovers
Fish Tail, 135 East 62nd Street, A Life Story Foundation (ALS)
Five Points, 31 Great Jones Street, I Challenge Myself
Galli, 45 Mercer Street, Breast Cancer Foundation
Gin Palace, 95 Avenue A, Social Tees Animal Rescue
Gramercy Tavern, 42 East 20th Street, ALS (A Life Story Foundation)
Hearth Restaurant/Terroir Wine Bar, 403 East 12th Street, ALS (A Life Story Foundation)
Hundred Acres, 38 MacDougal Street, A Life Story Foundation
Isola Trattoria & Crudo Bar, 9 Crosby Street, Autism Speaks
Jacob’s Pickles, 509 Amsterdam Avenue, West Side Campaign Against Hunger
Kin Shop, 469 Avenue of Americas, Food Bank For New York City
Kingside, 124 West 57th Street, Ubuntu Africa: dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of HIV-positive children in under-served communities in South Africa.
Kingston Hall, 149 Second Avenue, Food Bank For New York City
L’Apicio, 13 East 1st Street, Heritage Radio Network
L’Artusi, 228 West 10th Street, Heritage Radio Network
La Birreria @ Eataly, 200 Fifth Avenue, Food Bank For New York City
Lavazza Gran Bar @ Eataly, 200 Fifth Avenue, Food Bank For New York City
Louie and Chan, 303 Broome Street, City Harvest
Lucky Luna, 167 Nassau Avenue, Brooklyn, Safe Horizons
Macao, 311 Church Street, Food Bank For New York City
Madam Geneva, 4 Bleecker Street, Children of Bellevue
Manzo @ Eataly, 200 Fifth Avenue, Food Bank For New York City
Meridian, 161 West 23rd Street, Playing for Change
Mezcla, 327 Second Avenue, Our Lady of Pompeii Catholic Church
Milk & Honey, 30 East 23rd Street, Camp Sunshine
Mondrian Soho Hotel, 9 Crosby Street, Autism Speaks
Mother’s Ruin, 18 Spring Street, OXFAM
Ninth Ward, 180 Second Avenue, Food Bank For New York City
Oceana, 120 West 49th Street, The Rockaway Plunge benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
OVEST PIZZOTECA by Luzzo’s, 513 West 27th Street #1, Food Bank For New York City
PDT, 113 St. Marks Place, City Meals on Wheels
Perilla, 9 Jones Street, Food Bank For New York City
Petaluma, 1356 First Avenue, Worldwide Orphans
Plan B Tapas, 244 Mulberry Street, Make a Wish Foundation
Playland Motel, 97-20 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Queens, Greybreads
Pouring Ribbons, 225 Avenue B, Second Floor, Breakthrough NYC
PUBLIC restaurant, 210 Elizabeth Street, Children of Bellevue
Red Farm, 529 Hudson, Meals on Wheels
Red Farm UWS, 2170 Broadway, Meals on Wheels
Riverpark, 450 East 19th Street, Children of Bellevue
Rochelle’s, 205 Chrystie Street, Worldwide Orphans
Santambroeus Lafayette, 265 Lafayette Street, Coney Island Recovers
Santambroeus Madison Avenue, 1000 Madison Avenue, Coney Island Recovers
Santambroeus West Village, 259 West 4th Street, Coney Island Recovers
Saxon + Parole, 316 Bowery, Children of Bellevue
Shoolbred’s, 197 Second Avenue, Food Bank For New York City
Sons of Essex, 133 Essex Street, Worldwide Orphans
Spunto, 65 Carmine Street, Our Lady of Pompeii Church NYC
The Blue Bar, 59 West 44th Street, Breast Cancer Research Foundation
The Breslin, 16 West 29th Street, God’s Love We Deliver
The Churchill, 45 East 28th Street, Concern Worldwide
The Daily, 210 Elizabeth Street, Children of Bellevue
The Gander, 15 West 18th Street, City Harvest
The Gilroy, 1471 Second Avenue, Fresh Air Fund
The Handy Liquor Bar, 527 Broome Street, The Lower East Side Girls Club
The Late Late Bar & Spirit Grocer, 159 East Houston Street, Bowery Mission
THE LCL: Bar & Kitchen, 212 East 42nd Street, JDRF
The Marrow, 99 Bank Street, Food Bank For New York City
The Musket Room, 265 Elizabeth Street, God’s Love We Deliver
The Redhead, 349 East 13th Street, Food for Life
The Roof, 124 West 57th Street, JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes)
The Rum House, 228 West 47th Street, Breast Cancer Foundation
The Saint Catherine, 660 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, Ready for Rescue
The Tippler, 425 West 15th Street, A Life Story Foundation
The Winslow, 243 East 14th Street, A Life Story Foundation
The World Bar, 845 United Nations Plaza, Michael J Fox Foundation
Tooker Alley, 793 Washington Avenue, Coalition for the Homeless
Trattoria Il Mulino, 36 East 20th Street, Coney Island Rebuilds
Trestle on Tenth, 242 Tenth Avenue, ALS (A Life Story Foundation)
Von, 3 Bleecker Street, ASPCA
Ward III, 111 Reade Street, Breast Cancer Research Foundation
Whitehall, 19 Greenwich Avenue, ALS (A Life Story Foundation)