This strawberry negroni is perfect for summer. Sweet strawberries, gin, Campari and vermouth make for one smooth cocktail.

I’m seriously having a hard time believing we are already halfway through the summer.  I haven’t even made it out to the beach once yet! Barely even a trip to Prospect or Central Park, but while my daily routine hasn’t changed for the season.  My cocktails have! Do you switch them up for the season?

I’ll always be a bourbon girl at heart, somehow ending up with a bourbon smash or an old fashioned in my hand before the night is over, but to start with – it’s usually going to be a Pimm’s Cup or a Negroni. Gin is hands down my summer spirit of choice.

It’s taken a while to really learn to appreciate the fine botanicals and piney flavor of gin. I think the key is find the type that you like the best and work your way around there.

Each brand has its own flavor profile, some are more floral than others, while some more citrusy. I tend to lean on the more citrusy heavy brands but these days I rarely turn down a gin-based cocktail.

Of course, once I learned to love gin, the next thing to learn to love was a Negroni. It’s not an easy cocktail to love; the only way to describe it is bitter.

Comprised of equal parts of gin, campari and sweet vermouth, you have to wonder who decided to put the three together. There are no bitters, no simple syrup, no acid, nothing.

The first time I tried it, I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t fall in love either. The second time, I was hooked.

I don’t love super sweet cocktails, so this was right up my alley.

Since I love playing around with the flavors of classic cocktails and it is strawberry season, I thought it would be fun to make sort of an introductory version of the Negroni. This strawberry negroni is just a tad less harsh than the original.

Mixed with a homemade strawberry syrup and then equal parts of gin, campari and sweet vermouth, it sweetens things up just a little bit. The strawberry flavor isn’t very present, just sits there in the background.

There’s a lot of flexibility here – you can go with less sugar in your strawberry syrup mix, or just go full on strawberry puree. The world is your oyster (or cocktail bar), but I hear oysters do go well with a negroni.

This Strawberry Negroni originally appeared on Food Fanatic.