New York Cocktail Company’s Chocolate Negroni ready-to-drink mix.
Andrew Steinman
Negroni Week, which has become an annual week-long event since it was first established by Imbibe Magazine in 2013, is now an international celebration of the beloved Italian cocktail.
Ahead of this year’s event, New York Cocktail Company (NYCC) launched a collection of Negroni variations that capitalize on the recent surge in ready-to-drink beverages—touted by market research firm IWSR as the “star” of the global beverage market in 2023 and the only alcoholic drinks category to see significant volume and value growth last year.
The Negroni was also one of the most popular cocktails of 2023, with on-premise sales growing 44% last year. A basic Negroni is typically made with equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. It’s served over ice and garnished with an orange peel.
The Negroni Sbagliato, a version made with prosecco, was the top-trending cocktail in Google searches in the U.S. last year, according to The Spirits Business, likely driven both by the popularity of the original Negroni as well as thanks to a TikTok-sized clip of the stars of HBO’s House of the Dragon discussing it.
Thus, the market appears ripe for any new take on the classic Negroni.
NYCC was founded during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the demand for high-quality cocktails at-home as well as to-go from restaurants and bars, especially in New York City, surged as dining out became unavailable.
Founded by bar industry veterans Linden Pride, Rodrigo Leme and Malte Barnekow, the company touts using ingredients sourced from trusted producers worldwide.
Pride says the pandemic provided the opportunity to tap into a growing consumer desire for high-end cocktails without needing extensive ingredients or bartending skills.
“COVID was an interesting time that really made people appreciate that moment for why they would go to a bar,” he tells Forbes. “It wasn’t just for a great drink, it wasn’t just to see somebody—it was this in-between, this transported moment where you would check out of your day-to-day life.”
A Negroni being made at The Carlyle Hotel in New York City.
Memry/BFA.com
The company’s flagship offerings include four distinct Negronis: a classic Negroni, a Chocolate Negroni, a rum-based Espresso Negroni and a Mezcalito Negroni. By having four variations of the Negronis, Pride says, consumers can take a deep dive into cocktails and better understand what goes into them.
“People started to recreate that in their houses, and we wanted to fill that gap. There was this appreciation or expectation that you could have a great cocktail at home and you didn’t need to buy three or four bottles and watch a YouTube video about how to make it,” says Pride, who along with his wife Nathalie Hudson also owns Dante, one of the premier Negroni bars in Manhattan. “You wanted to just be able to trust and pour something out of the fridge and focus on that moment with a friend or with a piece of music.”
Ingredients play a crucial role in each cocktail’s flavor profile, with NYCC using prestigious products like Mancino Vermouth and Su Casa Mezcal. These choices, according to Pride, are the result of years of experience working with these products in bars.
“In crafting a great cocktail, especially a Negroni, you have to be able to work with Italian vermouth and local American gin and products that you know you can trust,” says Pride. “An important part of the choice of ingredients comes from years of experience working with these products behind the bar. We’ve gotten to know how they play in cocktails over the years and perfected their use as components in a mixed drink, which is very much an art form.”
The design of the bottles is also a key aspect of NYCC’s approach, aimed at blending style with functionality. And Hudson led the design process. The bottles are designed to be both practical and aesthetically pleasing, contributing to the overall drinking experience.
“Nathalie’s goal in designing the bottle was to have this piece that could fit easily into a casual ‘let’s get together and meet at my stoop to have a Negroni’ kind of moment,” Pride describes. “The bottle could sit on the bar as a decanter almost, and you could have this great piece that could sit on the wall. And by designing a decanter that was both classic in design and also contemporary with a beautiful tarp and something that really fits in your palm, we wanted to make sure, and Natalie wanted to make sure that the design of this bottle was egalitarian but also really quite premium.”
Looking ahead, NYCC plans to expand its reach by partnering with high-end hotels and retail experiences. The company has already secured placement at The Carlyle Hotel and the Montauk Yacht Club, with a pop-up planned at Nordstrom.
“It’s is not about just standing out in the market or being a trend that the people like this summer or in the fall; we’re about creating a quality experience that consumers can really tap into and fold into their daily lives—in the same way that you’d love to go to your favorite bar and see your favorite bartender and they know the drink you like,” Pride says. “It could be on the fire escape over at a friend’s house or in the park. Essentially our focus is bringing people together and creating that occasion that doesn’t need to be in a bar.”
