#NegroniSbagliato

The Negroni Sbagliato Enters the RTD Space

by David Klemt

Ideal for high-volume bars that serve guests with discerning tastes in ready-to-drink cocktails, Via Carota Craft Cocktails is launching a new line.

You may be familiar with Via Carota’s elegant bottle design and classic ready-to-pour drinks. However, if you’re new to this brand, they have a spectacular line of classic, premium RTDs (or RTPs, if you prefer):

Old Fashioned
Signature Manhattan
Signature Martini
Espresso Martini
Classic Negroni
White Negroni

Further, if the name seems familiar to you, there’s good reason. This line of cocktails is inspired by the West Village restaurant of the same name.

Featuring a new but no-less-elegant bottle design, Via Carota is introducing a sparkling range to their portfolio. Within this range are a Spritz, French 75, and Paloma. However, it’s the other two expressions in the line that have caught my eye.

You may recall that toward the end of 2022, a variant of a classic cocktail grabbed headlines at a furious pace. It seemed as though the Negroni Sbagliato was inescapable.

Well, that drink may not be spilling ink quite as much, but guests are still ordering it. So, Via Carota is serving up not just one but two Sbagliato variants. Alongside the aforementioned Spritz, French 75, and Paloma are the Negroni Sbagliato and White Negroni Sbagliato.

To learn more, review the official press release below. Salute!

Via Carota Craft Cocktails Announces New Sparkling Range

Ready-to-serve classics with fizz include Negroni Sbagliato, White Negroni Sbagliato, Spritz, Paloma and French 75

(May 14, 2024 – New York, NY) – Via Carota Craft Cocktails, the craft cocktail brand inspired by the eponymous West Village establishment, announces today a new range of single-serve, ready-to-pour sparkling cocktails.

Designed to be perfectly balanced and made for wherever life finds you, the new Sparkling Range features five refreshing, classic cocktails with lively fizz. The bubbly, bar-quality offerings are housed in stunning bespoke bottles and crafted to be enjoyed straight or served over ice – ideal for warm weather occasions, always with friends. The range includes:

Negroni Sbagliato: A bubbly riff on the classic Negroni, combining citrus and orange peel with herbaceous wine notes, for a long and fresh, effervescent finish.
White Negroni Sbagliato: A charming twist on the modern classic, this refreshing cocktail substitutes a white aperitivo in place of the traditional red, harmoniously marrying bitter and sweet for a complex cocktail.
Spritz: Vibrant in color, this bright, bittersweet, and zesty cocktail is approachable and full-flavored with complex herbal notes.
Paloma: Citrus notes and bespoke Blanco tequila combine sweet, sour and a touch of bitter for a bold cocktail with a crisp and bright finish.
French 75: A bright and complex classic with delectable notes of citrus and elderflower for a crisp and vibrant finish.

“We couldn’t be happier to share these sparkling expressions with consumers, just in time for summer,” said Chief Executive Officer, Bart Silvestro. “Via Carota Craft Cocktails was designed to elevate the at-home cocktail experience, and after the tremendous growth seen with the core range over the last year, this carefully crafted lineup pays homage to classic sparkling cocktails, with the bar-quality liquid that has become synonymous with our unique chef-to-shelf brand.”

The Via Carota Craft Cocktails Sparkling Range can be purchased as a 10-pack on DrinkViaCarota.com for $69, or as a 4-pack at select retailers for $24.99. Each 200ml bottle contains one sparkling cocktail at 11% ABV. The new Via Carota Craft Cocktails Sparkling Range joins the existing line of still, ready-to-serve cocktails launched in 2023, which includes Classic Negroni, White Negroni, Old Fashioned, Signature Manhattan, Espresso Martini and Signature Martini. For affiliate, visit ShareASale for 20% when joining in-network and/or via Skimlinks.

ABOUT VIA CAROTA CRAFT COCKTAILS

Elevated, classic recipes meet bar cart-worthy packaging to offer a cocktail experience like no other. Via Carota Craft Cocktails (VCCC) was created to bottle the warmth and relaxed elegance of the beloved West Village restaurant, allowing you to enjoy a perfectly balanced craft cocktail, wherever life finds you. VCCC’s core range of craft cocktails currently includes the following: Classic Negroni, White Negroni, Old Fashioned, Signature Manhattan, Espresso Martini and Signature Martini. The Sparkling line includes the following: Negroni Sbagliato, White Negroni Sbagliato, Spritz, Paloma and French 75, with additional cocktails and formats to come.

Image: Via Carota Craft Cocktails

The Delicious ‘Mistake’ Causing an Uproar

by David Klemt

Are you hearing your bar team or fellow bartenders debating Negroni specs or catching them rolling their eyes when a guest orders a particular variant?

Well, there’s a good reason. For some reason, the Negroni Sbagliato is getting roasted across social media.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mover & Shaker (@moverandshakerco)

Perhaps it’s for the way it’s apparently being ordered. If the memes are anything to go by—a portion of a sentence I can’t believe I just typed—guests are asking for, “A Negroni Sbagliato, with Prosecco.”

It’s possible that some bartenders are bristling at the “with Prosecco” portion of the order. A Sbagliato, which translates to “mistake,” “bungled,” or “incorrect” from Italian, is a gin-less Negroni. As you may already know or are putting together by now, sparkling wine stands in for the gin.

There’s also another possibility as well: some bartenders can’t stand when a cocktail suddenly explodes in popularity and it’s all they seem to make for weeks on end.

Of course, it could just be that some bartenders don’t feel that the drink is worthy of the hive-mind ordering frenzy. I’ve seen more than one comment on social media posts (again, I can’t believe that’s a relevant method of providing context, but here we are) pointing out that there’s nothing groundbreaking about the Sbagliato.

“All that’s happening is gin being swapped out for sparkling wine,” is a common refrain. It’s a good point.

If the phrase, “No Negroni without Campari,’ holds true, how can a Negroni be a Negroni without gin?

Guest Experience

So, that’s the gist of this “scandal” or “outrage.” Really, it just seems like a bit of fun from the bartender and cocktail communities. Why not vent a little spleen at something innocuous if nobody gets hurt?

Unless, of course, the guest experience is being affected negatively. There was a time not long ago during which a number of “serious” cocktail bar teams belittled guests for any number of reasons, and seemed to get away with it.

Didn’t know something about a particular element of ingredient of a drink? Ridicule. Asked for a drink “beneath” the bar team? Outward contempt.

Not great, as you can imagine, for the guest experience, growing a loyal base, and earning repeat visits.

Personally, I have no issue with front-of-house team members rolling their eyes at someone causing problems. Being rude or creepy to team members and/or guests? Difficult guests get what they deserve if they’re mocked, set straight, and kicked out.

But for ordering what they want to drink, well within reason? Sorry, but I don’t feel like that’s worthy of outward scorn. It’s not the spirit of hospitality, and it’s certainly not good for business.

However, I don’t think anyone has addressed the Negroni Sbagliato (non)issue as well as bartender Giuseppe González via Instagram:

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A post shared by Giuseppe González (@giuseppe_gonzalez)

If you don’t want to check out the post, even though you should, here’s a relevant snippet:

“So I say this with love: Unless they are ordering a Pumpkin Spice Negroni Sbagliato, let it go and look at this human knowing one thing: it’s actually a really cool drink and I’m not mad at it.”

Negroni Sbagliato

Remember, one of the keys to the balance that defines the original Negroni is the 1:1:1 ratio. For this riff on the classic, that ratio remains the same—it’s an ingredient change that makes the difference.

As you’ll see below, the Sbagliato recipe calls for Prosecco rather than gin. While the substitution is simple, the change to the cocktail is significant in terms for flavor and mouthfeel.

I’d also say this an fun fall or winter cocktail, so why not put one on your menu?

1 oz. Campari
1 oz. Sweet vermouth
1 oz. Prosecco
Orange slice or peel to garnish

First, prepare an Old Fashioned glass with a large ice cube or sphere. Next, add ice, Campari and sweet vermouth to a mixing glass. Stir until well chilled, then strain into the prepared glass. Now, add the Prosecco to the glass and stir once more. Finally, garnish with orange slice or peel.

If you so choose, you can build this drink entirely with Campari portfolio elements. There’s Campari itself, of course. Then there’s Cinzano Vermouth Rosso and Cinzano Prosecco.

Image: Matheus Frade on Unsplash