Negroni Sbagliato

Bar Basso, Milan, 1968. Bartender Mirko Stocchetto accidentally grabbed the Prosecco bottle when making a Negroni for a customer, mixed it in, and liked the result. The drink became a Bar Basso signature. Stocchetto's son Maurizio continues to serve it at the same bar using the same recipe. The drink achieved global viral fame in October 2022 after an HBO interview with House of the Dragon cast members.

The Negroni Sbagliato — Italian for 'wrong Negroni' or 'mistaken Negroni' — is what happens when Campari, sweet vermouth, and Prosecco replace the gin of a standard Negroni. Created by accident in 1968 at Bar Basso in Milan when bartender Mirko Stocchetto reached for the Prosecco bottle instead of the gin, the resulting mistake was too good to discard. It is lower in alcohol than a Negroni, more effervescent and approachable, and has the same bitter-sweet-herbal framework but with the sparkling wine's carbonation lifting it into a lighter, more sessionable aperitivo. The House of the Dragon actress Emma D'Arcy's viral 2022 interview description of it as 'a Negroni Sbagliato... with Prosecco in it' drove the drink to unprecedented cultural prominence.

FOOD PAIRING: The Negroni Sbagliato's lower alcohol and effervescence makes it a versatile food companion. Provenance 1000 pairings: prosciutto e melone (the bitter-sweet contrast against cured meat is classic), bruschetta al pomodoro (the carbonation lifts the tomato's acidity), pizza margherita (the Campari bitterness cuts through the cheese fat), risotto al Parmigiano (the bubbles refresh the palate between rich bites), and mortadella with pistachio.