One Of Bobby Flay's Favorite Cocktails May Ring A Bell
We know that Bobby Flay is always hungry, and we learned from his podcast what he's thirsty for when he orders a cocktail in Italy — and it may sound familiar! The negroni sbagliato had a moment of fame you might recall in 2020 when "House of Dragons" star Emma D'Arcy mentioned it as their favorite drink in a meme-worthy interview clip that went viral. Suddenly, the sbagliato was everyone's darling cocktail. Bobby told his daughter Sophie in the "Retro Cocktails" episode of his podcast that even he favors the drink, a classically retro Italian cocktail that he says he enjoys "all the time."
The bitter-forward sparkling negroni sbagliato is a variation of another of Flay's favorite classic Italian cocktails, the negroni, but with sparkling wine (prosecco!) rather than its usual gin. "Sbagliato" is the Italian word for "mistake" — a mistaken substitute of prosecco for gin by a bartender, which resulted in a new drink sensation.
No mistake about this drink
Omitting the gin used in a straight negroni results in a lower alcohol-by-volume drink that still has complex bitterness from Campari and sweet, herbal notes from vermouth, making for a great pre-dinner indulgence. The bubbly bottle of choice to stand in for gin is prosecco, which has a lower alcohol content than most other sparkling wines. Its origin in the Prosecco region of Italy makes it a natural choice for this Italian classic.
Flay's favorite is easy to make; no fancy shakers or a long list of ingredients — just Campari, sweet vermouth, and sparkling wine. No special glassware is required, as the drink is most at home in a common stemmed or rocks glass. The spirits should be used in equal proportions for flavor balance, so no complicated measuring tools are required either, just pour one part of each in your chilled glass. Of course, don't hesitate to increase the proportion of sparkling wine if you like a lighter-flavored drink with more bubbles. We have to agree with Bobby here, the negroni sbagliato is a classic we can't stop sipping!