A balance of flavours

"THE bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other." Such was film director Orson Welles' characterisation of the Negroni, supposedly invented in the early 1900s by the Italian count from whom it got its name.

Caffe Fernet principal bartender Sam Loh suggests a different balance at the cocktail's heart: "The perfect harmony of bitter and sweet flavours where the gin, the campari and sweet vermouth are perfectly balanced without overpowering each other."

The traditional recipe calls for equal portions of those three components, but wilder takes will be on offer during this month's Negroni Week.