Over the next week West Ashley residents can enjoy a fine historic cocktail at various restaurants around town and support a great cause at the same time. A dozen West Ashley restaurants are participating in Negroni Week. And a dollar from each drink sold will go to the charity of their choice.
Negroni Week was created by Imbibe Magazine and Campari in 2013 as a celebration of one of the world’s great cocktails and an effort to raise money for charitable causes around the world. From 2013 to 2014, Negroni Week grew from more than 100 venues to more than 1,300 participating venues around the world and more than $120,000 raised for charities. In 2015, more than 3,500 venues around the world mixed their favorite Negroni variations and raised over $320,000 for charitable causes. Negroni Week will take place through June 12.
While the drink’s origins are unknown, the most widely reported account is that it was firstly mixed in Florence, Italy in 1919. Legend has it Count Camillo Negroni concocted the cocktail by asking the bartender to strengthen his favorite cocktail, the Americano (1 ounce Campari, 1 ounce sweet red vermouth, a splash of soda), by adding gin rather than soda. The bartender also added an orange garnish rather than the typical lemon garnish of the Americano to signify that it was a different drink.
After the success of the cocktail, the Negroni Family founded Negroni Distillerie in Treviso, Italy, and produced a ready-made version of the drink, sold as Antico Negroni 1919. One of the earliest reports of the drink came from Orson Welles in correspondence with the Coshocton Tribune while working in Rome on Cagliostro in 1947, where he described a new drink called the Negroni.
Each of the 12 participating West Ashley restaurants will present the Negroni cocktail, either as the classic version, or a personalized drink with their own unique twist. Stop by and support these restaurants and their chosen charities.
Participating West Ashley Restaurants
3 Matadors – charity of choice: Lowcountry Food Bank
Al di La – charity of choice: Chase after a Cure
Creekside Kitchen and Brewhouse – charity of choice: Lowcountry Food Bank
Gene’s Haufbrau – charity of choice: Lowcountry Food Bank
The Glass Onion – charity of choice: Grow Food Carolina
Mex 1 Coastal Cantina – charity of choice: Surfers Healing
Red Orchids China Bistro – charity of choice: Waters Edge Great Dane Rescue
The Roost – charity of choice: Lowcountry Food Bank
Southern Roots Smokehouse – charity of choice: Lowcountry Food Bank
Southside 17 West Ashley – charity of choice: Lowcountry Food Bank
Swig and Swine – charity of choice: Charleston Miracle League
Triangle Char & Bar – charity of choice: Charles Webb Center
Keep tabs on the Negroni Week action on Imbibe’s Instagram and Twitter feeds (@imbibe) and by following the #NegroniWeek hashtag. For more information, check out www.negroniweek.com.