Negroni Cocktail Menu At Fiola | Washington D.C.

The Negroni is the insalata caprese of cocktails: a refreshing, wholly Italian way to start a meal.

The cocktail's brightly bitter combination of equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari is also shockingly effective at breaking the heat on a summer afternoon.

With these qualities in mind, Fiola's bar manager, Jeff Faile, assembled an all-Negroni menu of classic and new variations ($13).

Start with the Negroni Sbagliato, which loosely means a "screwed-up" Negroni. In lieu of the gin, the recipe calls for dry Prosecco for a snappy, effervescent aperitivo (click here for the recipe).

Faile's Negroni Bianco is an equally loose interpretation, omitting the Campari altogether. His clear drink uses the herbaceous Botanist Gin, vermouth and Cocchi Americano, the blissfully bitter fortified wine, in place of the Campari.

These concoctions shouldn't only be relegated to the start of a meal. Faile's Negroni Fragola blends dry Oxley Gin, Kina L'Avion D'Or–a bitter French wine–and strawberry-infused vermouth for a punch-like burst of summer fruit that would pair perfectly with a dish of sorbetto.

Fiola, 601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (entrance on Indiana Ave.); 202-628-2888 or fioladc.com