Paris, France · 2001

White Negroni

Also known as Blanc Negroni

A pale, herbal twist on the Negroni that swaps out the red bitter components for floral and bitter whites.

bitterherbalearthygentianfloralspirit-forwardaperitifbotanicaldry

ABV

Difficulty

Overview

What this drink is like

The first sip hits you with firm, earthy bitterness and a big hit of botanicals. The middle opens up into floral and citrus notes from the Suze and Lillet Blanc. It finishes long and dry, with a lingering wormwood bite that coats your tongue.

Who will like it

For people who like bitter, spirit-forward drinks with heavy herbal and earthy notes rather than fruity sweetness.

When to drink

Drink this before dinner when you want something bracing to wake up your palate.

Ordering tip

If your bar doesn't have Suze, ask for a standard Negroni instead, since the earthy gentian flavor is what makes this drink unique.

Ice: NoneTemp: ColdCost: $4–$7Glass: Nick & NoraBatch-friendlyMake ahead

Flavor

Taste profile

This is a drink for people who like their cocktails dry and bitter. The gin lays down a botanical foundation, but the Suze takes over with a deep, rooty earthiness that doesn't quit. Lillet Blanc tries to smooth things out with a little floral sweetness, but the finish stays long, bitter, and firmly dry. It's a thinker of a drink, shifting between floral and bitter as you sip.

Finish: The finish runs long and dry, with the earthy gentian bitterness clinging to the back of your tongue long after you set the glass down.

Primary tastes

bitterherbalearthy

Secondary

floralnutty

Aroma

gentiancitrus zestbotanicalwhite flowers

Bitternessvery bitter
The gentian root in Suze brings a deep, earthy bitterness that dominates the drink from start to finish.
Sweetnesslow sweetness
The Lillet Blanc adds a subtle honeyed sweetness, but it gets swallowed up by the bitter and herbal notes.
Strengthstrong
With three full pours of alcohol and no juice or mixer, this is a stiff, spirit-forward drink.
Refreshingmoderately refreshing
It's cold and bracing enough to wake up your palate, but the heavy earthy notes make it more of a sipper than a quencher.
Complexityhighly complex
The gin's botanicals, the Lillet's floral wine notes, and the Suze's earthy gentian all pull in different directions, making each sip shift and change.

Recipe

Make it at home

Stirred · Nick & Nora · equal parts on Gin. London Dry recommended so the botanicals stand up to the Suze

Before you start

Put your Nick & Nora glass in the freezer for a few minutes so it's frosty when you pour. Grab fresh ice for mixing — big cubes melt slower and keep the drink from getting watery.

Ingredients

GinBase Spirit30ml
Lillet BlancVermouth30ml
SuzeLiqueurFrench gentian liqueur; earthy and bitter30ml
Lemon peelGarnish1 twist

Garnish: Lemon twist

Tools

Mixing glass · Mixing
To combine and chill the ingredients without making them cloudy
At home: A large pint glass
Jigger · Measuring
To measure the equal parts of each ingredient
At home: A shot glass or measuring spoon
Bar spoon · Mixing
To stir the drink smoothly and chill it down
At home: A long dinner knife or chopstick
Hawthorne strainer · Straining
To hold back the ice when pouring the drink into the glass
At home: A slotted spoon or fine mesh sieve
Nick & Nora glass · Serving
To serve the drink chilled and neat
At home: A small wine glass or coupe
Vegetable peeler · optional · Garnish
To cut a clean, wide strip of lemon peel for the garnish
At home: A small sharp knife

Steps

1
Measure out 30ml of gin, 30ml of Lillet Blanc, and 30ml of Suze using your jigger, and pour them all into the mixing glass. The liquid should look a pale, cloudy yellow at this point.
!Pouring directly from the bottle without measuring can throw off the balance since Suze is aggressively bitter.
2
Fill the mixing glass almost to the top with ice, making sure the ice sits above the level of the liquid. Use big, solid cubes if you have them so the drink chills without getting watered down too fast.
!Using small, broken ice chips will over-dilute the drink before it gets properly cold.
3
Take your bar spoon and stir steadily for about 20 to 30 seconds, moving the ice smoothly around the glass. Keep going until the outside of the mixing glass feels very cold to the touch and frost starts forming on it.
~25s
!Stirring too fast or aggressively chips the ice and clouds the drink.
4
Take your chilled Nick & Nora glass out of the freezer and set it on the counter. Put the Hawthorne strainer over the top of the mixing glass and pour the liquid through the strainer into the glass, leaving all the ice behind.
!Letting ice chips slip into the serving glass waters down the first sip.
5
Hold a lemon peel over the drink and give it a good twist so the citrus oils spray across the surface. Drop the peel into the drink and serve it right away while it's still very cold.
!Squeezing the peel into the drink instead of just twisting it releases bitter pith oils instead of fragrant zest.

Serve

Serve it neat in a chilled Nick & Nora or coupe glass. The drink should look clear and pale yellow with a thin layer of lemon oils resting on top.

Variations

Ingredient substitutions

Each row shows what you can swap in place of an original ingredient, and how the drink changes.

Swap options for Suze

SuzeSalers
Match
Specialty availability
Suze → Salers: Slightly lighter and more citrusy than Suze, but still delivers that signature gentian bitterness.
SuzeCampari
Match
Common availability
Suze → Campari: Turns the drink back into a standard Negroni variant, replacing earthy bitterness with bright, fruity bitterness.

Swap options for Lillet Blanc

Lillet BlancDry Vermouth
Match
Common availability
Lillet Blanc → Dry Vermouth: Makes the drink much drier and less floral, stripping away the subtle honeyed notes of the Lillet.
Lillet BlancKina L'Avion d'Or
Match
Rare availability
Lillet Blanc → Kina L'Avion d'Or: Adds more quinine bitterness and spice, pushing the drink further into bitter-herbal territory.

Similar cocktails

Cousin drinks that share DNA with this one — each profile stands on its own.

Similar cocktail

Negroni

The White Negroni uses Lillet Blanc and Suze instead of sweet vermouth and Campari, trading bright red fruit bitterness for earthy, floral bitterness.

Match

Both drinks have that same bracing, bitter punch and strong gin backbone, but the White Negroni drinks drier and earthier, without the sweet orange and spiced cherry notes you get from a classic Negroni.

In common: equal-parts ratio, spirit-forward, bitter, stirred, served neat

Ingredients

Both share

Gin

Only in White Negroni

Lillet Blanc, Suze

Only in Negroni

Sweet Vermouth, Campari

Swapping Campari for Suze changes the bitterness from bright and orange-forward to rooty and earthy, while replacing sweet vermouth with Lillet Blanc removes the dark, spiced fruit notes for something lighter and more floral.

Flavor

Shared flavors

bitter-sweet backbone, spirit-forward structure, botanical aroma

How Negroni differs

earthier, paler flavor, less fruity, drier finish

View recipe & details →

Similar cocktail

Boulevardier

The Boulevardier uses bourbon instead of gin, giving it a richer, sweeter, and warmer foundation than the botanical White Negroni.

Match

The Boulevardier feels rounder and warmer on the palate thanks to the bourbon, while the White Negroni is sharper, lighter, and more purely herbal.

In common: spirit-forward, bitter, stirred, served neat

Ingredients

Both share

Gin

Only in White Negroni

Lillet Blanc, Suze

Only in Boulevardier

Bourbon Whiskey, Sweet Vermouth, Campari

The Boulevardier relies on bourbon's caramel and vanilla sweetness to balance Campari's sharp bitterness, whereas the White Negroni uses gin's juniper and Lillet's floral wine notes to frame Suze's earthy bite.

Flavor

Shared flavors

bitter-sweet balance, spirit-forward weight, complex finish

How Boulevardier differs

warmer, sweeter, heavier body, less herbal

View recipe & details →

History

Origin

Wayne Collins created the White Negroni in 2001 at the Experimental Cocktail Club in Paris. He built it by replacing Campari with Suze and sweet vermouth with Lillet Blanc, keeping the equal-parts ratio of the original Negroni.

Creator: Wayne Collins
Era: 2000s
Confidence

The equal-parts ratio is the most widely accepted spec, though some bars adjust the Suze down to 15ml or 20ml to soften the bitterness.

Practical

Tips & pitfalls

What works at home and what to skip when making this drink.

Tips

Worth knowing before you pour

Suze is a specialty bottle, so check a well-stocked liquor store before planning this drink.
Stir a little longer than you think to properly tame the harsh edges of the Suze.
Batch the ingredients in a bottle and keep it in the fridge for instant aperitifs.
A lemon twist works better than orange here because it matches the lighter, floral profile.

Avoid

Common mistakes

Don't use sweet vermouth instead of Lillet Blanc, it will clash with the Suze.
Don't skip the stir and shake it instead, it will water down the delicate flavors.
Don't under-stir, or the drink will taste harsh and unbalanced.