How to Make Bistecca’s Milk Negroni. It’s a Negroni… but not as you know it.
At Bistecca Bar and Restaurant, the Florentine theme is evident throughout. The basement venue in Sydney CBD offers a transportative experience from the impressive fitout inspired by steakhouses in Florence to the hero dish, Bistecca alla Florentina.
With Bistecca’s focus on aperitivo and various styles of amaro, Lachie Gunner, Drinks Creative for Liquid and Larder sought to create Negronis for pre and post dining, including one that paired with the house tiramisu. For the Milk Negroni, he incorporated dark flavours of ground cacao, nutmeg, cinnamon and clove using the technique of milk clarification to give the silkiest and cleanest result.
The Milk Negroni is bottled and served in a frozen stemmed glass without ice. It has a crème brûlée crust-like golden colour and an aroma that carries the most volatile flavours with cinnamon and nutmeg being most prominent.
“That spice sits in front with a medium orange flavour, a delightful difference from the bitter smack you get from other Negronis,” Lachie Gunner explains. “After a few seconds, the bitterness starts to creep into the mix and lengthens out over the rest of the taste like any good Negroni should.”
His favourite part is the texture of the drink. “The combination of the ice cold temperature, honey and some properties passed over from the full cream milk, the whole drink is smooth as silk from start to finish – which is what makes this drink unique.”
Here’s how to make Bistecca’s Milk Negroni.
Milk Negroni Cocktail Recipe
Recipe by Lachie Gunner, Drinks Creative for Liquid and Larder
Makes 5 L batch, 150 ml per serve
Ingredients
- 1 L dry gin
- 1 L Italian aperitivo blend
- 1 L dry vermouth
- 30 g fresh orange zest, grated
- 2 teaspoons each of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground clove
- 13 teaspoons of ground cacao
- 30 g honey
- 800 g brewed chai tea (3 bags/800ml)
- 430 g dark brown sugar
- 42 g citric acid (in powder form)
- 2.4 L full cream milk
Equipment
large pot, large non reactive container, fine strainer, muslin cloth, clean sterilised bottles
Method
- In a large container, mix all ingredients together without the full cream milk.
- Bring the milk to the boil in a large pot then take off heat. Immediately but slowly add the alcohol mix to the hot milk. Less disturbance to the mix in this step will produce larger curds which are easier to filter.
- Leave to coagulate for a minimum of one hour but preferably refrigerated overnight.
- Pour into a fine mesh strainer and monitor the stream coming from the strainer.
- Once the stream turns clear, move to a new container for bottling and gently pour the already strained liquid back into the strainer.
- Once strained, bottle, label and leave the cocktail refrigerated.
- The batch makes 5 L and keeps for 1 week when stored in the fridge. Taste regularly.
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