There's a new spritzy cocktail taking over the internet: the Negroni sbagliato with Prosecco. – Photos: HBO (left) and The Star filepic
There's a new spritzy cocktail taking over the internet: the Negroni sbagliato with Prosecco.
Relatively unknown until a few days ago, the Negroni sbagliato, which means "wrong" or "mistaken" in Italian, subs sparkling wine (like prosecco) for gin. The drink's sudden fame can be credited to House Of The Dragon star Emma D'Arcy, who recently declared the Negroni sbagliato "with prosecco in it" their favorite drink in a now-viral "Get to Know Me" video with co-star Olivia Cooke.
But it wasn't just human curiosity that caused the sbagliato mania. It was the smooth, sensual way that D'Arcy — who plays the grown-up Rhaenyra Targaryen, the heir to the iron throne in the Game Of Thrones spin-off series — said it in their English accent.
Twitter went wild over it.
The Negroni Sbagliato is basically a Negroni with prosecco instead of gin."Emma's voice is just phenomenal. It's so captivating and soothing," said Blake Cole, a longtime lover of the formerly under-the-radar drink and owner of Oakland cocktail bar Friends and Family. "They make it sound very, very appetizing."
The sound bite first exploded on social media in the queer community, as D'Arcy is nonbinary. Then it flooded the TikTok bartender circles before the next logical step: bars in real life, like Friends and Family. The hashtag on TikTok has around 13 million views.
The timing for the Negroni sbagliato couldn't have been better. Aperitif cocktails are booming, riding the coattails of the Aperol spritz and low-alcohol movements. Their success is boosted by the popularity of trendy aperitif brands, like Mommenpop and Haus. The latter surpassed US$10mil (RM47mil) in sales, but shut down operations in August.
True to its name, this less-boozy Negroni was reportedly invented when a bartender accidentally grabbed a bottle of prosecco instead of gin. Some stickler bartenders on TikTok have pointed out that the cocktail is simply called a sbagliato. There's no need to say "Negroni" or ask for prosecco, which is already implied.
Cole hopes this simple bitter concoction may finally dethrone another trendy yet tired cocktail. "Not to hate on an espresso martini, but am I glad we're moving from an espresso martini to a Negroni sbagliato moment? Yes," she said. "There's so much more fun to be had with a Negroni sbagliato, so many more ways to do it."
To prove it, Cole has placed three iterations of the drink — inspired by Via Carota, the famed New York City trattoria — on the happy hour menu at Friends and Family.
At Friends and Family, patrons can order the Classique, made with equal parts Campari, sweet (red) vermouth and sparkling wine. The Blanc is essentially a white Negroni spritz with French apéritif Suze and white vermouth. The Rosato is made with grapefruit vermouth from local aperitif brand Mommenpop and Cappelletti. All three are garnished with an orange twist. The drinks can be ordered anytime but are discounted from US$14 (RM65,80) to $12 (RM56.40) at happy hour.
"It's one of my favourite drinks of all time, but explaining it to people can sometimes be a little like a heavy lifting exercise," said Cole. "When I saw this was happening, we were like, 'We're going to run with this.'"
It seems like not many people watched the HBO video in full. If they had, we might all be facing a cabbage shortage, for D'Arcy chose it as their plant of choice for their hypothetical house sigil.
"They're actually so beautiful," D'Arcy said of the polarizing vegetable.
Stock up now, just in case. – By Jess Lander/ San Francisco Chronicle/Tribune News Service
