Celebrate Negroni Week in Orlando, June 2-8

The Negroni is probably my favorite cocktail, the thing I always order if I’m in a bar where the bartenders look like they know what they’re doing. (Not that it’s complicated! A Negroni is just equal parts Campari, gin, and sweet vermouth.) And I’m definitely not alone in that — the (photo by Jessica Bryce Young, from this recipe) Negroni inspires passionate loyalty among barfolk, inspiring countless variations, a Gaz Regan book and even the tattoo shown below, inked on Steven Schopick and based on a print by Alyson Thomas. I’ve even Remixed one of the best-known Negroni variations, the Boulevardier, in Orlando Weekly‘s pages. So it’s great news, but not a big surprise, that the fine people of Imbibe magazine and Campari have come together for a week-long, nationwide  celebration of the Negroni. From June 2-8, now officially (ish) designated Negroni Week, bars around the world (1,271 and counting) will mix up and serve forth their favorite Negroni variations, with a portion of proceeds from each one sold to be donated to a charity of the bar’s choice. Below, a list of local bars participating in Negroni Week, with their addresses and charity of choice. So go out, drink some drinks. It’s for a good cause! Cask & Larder, 565 W. Fairbanks Ave., Winter Park (Charity: American Cancer Society) The Courtesy Bar, 114 N. Orange Ave. (Charity: The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis) Lil Indies/Wills Pub, 1036 N. Mills Ave. (Charity: Harbor House) The Matador, 724 Virginia Drive (Charity: Harbor House) The Ravenous Pig, 1234 N. Orange Ave., Winter Park (Charity: The American Cancer Society) The Rusty Spoon, 55 W. Church St. (Charity: Edible School Yard) Siro Urban Italian Kitchen, 8701 World Center Drive (Charity: Florida Impact) The Woods, 49 N. Orange Ave. (Charity: Second Harvest Food Bank)   Now that is TRUE dedication. (photo via)

This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2014.