Rhubarb Negroni

British forced rhubarb arrives early in the year - bright pink, delicately sweet and sharply tart - making it perfect for lifting a Negroni without losing its backbone.

Here it meets silky lemon-butter fat-washed gin and classic bittersweet aperitif structure. The result is soft-textured, zippy and gently savoury - still respectable enough for Negroni purists, but playful enough for anyone who secretly orders spritzes!

Ingredients

Serves 1

• 25 ml lemon butter fat-washed London Dry Gin

• 25 ml Bianco Vermouth

• 15 ml Red Bitter

• 1 tsp Rhubarb Shrub

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Glassware

Rocks

Garnish

Rhubarb Ribbon (a lemon peel will work if you don't have spare rhubarb handy)

Method

FOR THE LEMON BUTTER FAT-WASHED GIN:

Ingredients:

• 250 ml 58 and CO London Dry Gin

• 50 g Unsalted butter

• Peels from 1 whole unwaxed lemon

Makes approx 250ml (enough for 10 serves)

Method:

1. Melt butter gently (do not brown).
2. Combine gin, melted butter and lemon peels in a container. Stir thoroughly.
3. Cover and freeze until solid (minimum 4 hrs, ideally overnight).
4. Remove the hard fat and strain through coffee filter. Compost the fat and peels or they can be used to fat-wash again!
5. Add into a clean, sterilised bottle. Can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 month.

FOR THE RHUBARB SHRUB:

Ingredients:

• 250 g chopped rhubarb

• 200 g caster sugar

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 125 ml apple cider vinegar

Makes approx 150ml (enough for 20 serves)

Method:

1. Combine rhubarb, sugar and lemon juice in a container.
2. Mix and refrigerate overnight to macerate.
3. Strain liquid the next day, then add apple cider vinegar and stir.
4. Add into a clean, sterilised bottle. Can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

TOP TIP: Don’t Waste the Rhubarb

Cook the strained rhubarb in a pan over medium heat until soft. (Optional: add a little vanilla.) Serve with custard, yoghurt, ice cream or crushed biscuits. Congratulations - you accidentally made dessert!

FOR THE COCKTAIL:

1. Add all ingredients to a mixing glass, then fill with ice and stir for 20–25 seconds until properly chilled and lightly diluted.
2. Fill a rocks glass with ice (or one big ice cube) and strain in your cocktail.
3. To garnish, use a vegetable peeler to cut a long ribbon of fresh rhubarb, gently twist it over the drink to release aroma, then drape it over the rim or coil it inside the glass.