frozen negroni

1 oz Gin (Damrak)
1 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1 oz Campari
Juice 1 Orange (2 1/2 oz)
3/4 oz Simple Syrup

Blend until smooth with 8 oz crushed ice, pour into a frozen glass (Collins), and garnish with an orange wedge.

Another frozen drink that appears on Jeffrey Morgenthaler's blog is one for a Frozen Negroni. Actually, it came up after thinking about the Frozen Sherry Cobbler, and I wondered if I could do the same with another straight spirits classic. When the idea of a blender Negroni popped into my head, I did a web search first and uncovered Morgenthaler's gem. He created this years ago and served it for Negroni Week in Germany one season, and he finally got around to posting his recipe after a few requests two years ago. He explained, "Purists will tell you this isn't a Negroni and they're correct... but they're still wrong. The Blended Negroni epitomizes everything that a Negroni stands for: it's refreshing, it's bitter, and it's perfect before or after dinner. This blended version is all that... but with a little more."
The aberrations were to add orange juice to give the concoction a bit more heft to it as it was blended with ice, and the simple syrup was needed to bring out the mid-palate flavors in this format. Once prepared, the Frozen Negroni greeted the nose with orange from both the garnish and the Campari. Next, fruit notes of orange and grape mingled on the sip, and the swallow showcased the gin and Campari's bitter orange flavors that came across a lot like blood orange.