No. 117 September/October 2025

My first-ever Negroni was mixed by my own hand. It was not good.

There are reasons for this. Twenty years ago, in most American bars, the Negroni was a nonstarter. Whatever popularity it had summoned in the peak cocktail years of the 20th century was largely lost by the opening years of the 21st. While there were still bartenders who never let go of the old ways, including the institutional knowledge of how to prepare a decent Negroni, none of them were known to me—at least, not yet.

So one evening, determined to develop some familiarity with the gorgeous garnet cocktail depicted in a favorite bar manual (Cocktail, by Paul Harrington—it’s worth searching online for a used copy), I pulled out my gin and my vermouth, and my little-used bottle of Campari, and I went for it. The recipe wasn’t wrong, nor was the technique. No, at that time, it was me that was wrong. The Negroni was all it has ever been, and all it will ever be. I, on the other hand, still needed to come to terms with a cocktail that’s always been comfortable in its own identity, as challenging as that might be to the Negroni newbie.

Over the past couple of decades, countless Negroni newbs have successfully navigated the on-ramp onto the aperitivo superhighway, and bars in which the Negroni is held in high esteem now populate the planet. This prominence is particularly notable every September, when thousands of bars worldwide participate in Imbibe’s Negroni Week celebration in support of Slow Food’s mission to foster a more equitable and sustainable food and beverage world. To get this year’s party started, we’re highlighting more than a dozen bars worldwide that hold a very special place in their hearts for the Negroni and its variations. And with Negroni Week 2025 happening September 22–28, head to negroniweek.com to find out more about this year’s event.

Of course, life’s not all about Negronis. France may be the first place most of us think of when sparkling wine comes into the conversation, but as Betsy Andrews details, Oregon’s winemakers are increasingly making a splash with bubbles. And pop the top on a fizzy drink anytime during the daylight hours in the U.S., and chances are good that a cola is about to be consumed. But what exactly is cola, and how did it conquer the soda aisle? Robert Simonson explores that story.

We’re also returning to Asheville, North Carolina, for Josh Bernstein’s look at the city’s brewing culture one year after Hurricane Helene. And Susannah Skiver Barton digs into the role that different types of wood can play in aging your favorite spirits, while we’ve got Carrie Allan’s profile of LP O’Brien as she balances life post-Netflix, the bartending profession, sobriety, and motherhood.

Cheers, and happy Negroni Week,