Enzoni
Gin, Campari, lemon, sugar and muddled green grapes, shaken over ice. Vincenzo Errico's 2003 Milk & Honey drink — a Negroni crossed with a sour, with grapes doing the vermouth's work.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Add the grapes and the syrup to a shaker and muddle until the grapes are crushed.
Add the gin, Campari and lemon juice, fill with ice, and shake hard for 10 seconds.
Double strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.
Garnish with a grape or two on a pick.
A thoughtful finish
- Ripe, sweet green grapes; the drink's fruit comes entirely from them.
- Double strain; grape pulp in the glass is unpleasant.
- Equal gin and Campari is the recipe; the lemon and grapes are what make it a sour rather than a Negroni.
Common mistakes
- Red grapes, which colour and change the drink.
- Skipping the muddle and shaking whole grapes.
- Too much syrup; the grapes are sweet.
A few good questions.
What does an Enzoni taste like?
A bitter gin sour with fresh grape — Campari's orange bitterness, lemon, juniper, and the sweetness of crushed grapes. Fresher than a Negroni.
Who is Vincenzo Errico?
An Italian bartender who worked at Milk & Honey in New York in the early 2000s; the drink is named for his nickname, Enzo.
Can I use white wine instead of grapes?
It is not the same drink, but a splash of dry white wine with a little more syrup is an emergency version.
Up or on the rocks?
On the rocks, as Milk & Honey served it.
Variations
- Negroni — Gin, Campari and sweet vermouth.
- Jungle Bird — Rum, Campari and pineapple.
- Siesta — Tequila, Campari, lime and grapefruit.
- Bramble — Gin, lemon and blackberry liqueur.
Where it comes from
2003 · New York City · Vincenzo Errico · Milk & Honey
Vincenzo Errico, an Italian bartender at Sasha Petraske’s Milk & Honey in New York, created the Enzoni in 2003 — gin and Campari in equal parts with lemon, sugar and five muddled green grapes — as a Negroni for people who wanted something lighter and fresher, with the grapes supplying the fruit and sweetness that vermouth gives the original. The name is his nickname. It travelled through the Milk & Honey family of bars and into the craft repertoire, and it is one of the few modern classics built on muddled fruit.
Sources
- Sasha Petraske and Georgette Moger-Petraske, Regarding Cocktails, 2016 (book)
- Robert Simonson, A Proper Drink, 2016 (book)
- Difford's Guide, Enzoni, 2015 (reference)
Strength. About 1.13 US standard drinks at an estimated 17.7% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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