Campari to hold Negroni Week later this month

ITALIAN chic is captured in every glass of Negroni. The drink was first mixed in Florence with gin, vermouth, and Campari liqueur, requested by a count from his bartender (the drink was eventually named after the count, whose last name was Negroni).

As for Campari, the centuries-old brand was founded in Novara by Gaspare Campari — 49% of the company is still owned today by members of the Campari family. Today the Campari Group owns over 50 brands, including Aperol, SKYY Vodka, and Wild Turkey.

Orson Welles liked negronis well enough, so why shouldn’t you? “People who drink negronis are people who are more daring,” said Symphony Loo, Campari’s brand ambassador.

Ms. Loo was in town last week at The Peninsula’s Salon de Ning to promote the company’s Negroni Week, which will span from June 24 to 30. While it has made appearances in the country in the past, this will be its biggest celebration yet.

The promotional activity began in 2013 as a partnership between Campari and Imbibe magazine. Only one or two bars from the Philippines joined in the few years past, but Ms. Loo wants something big this year. To do that, a bar or a restaurant has to sign up at the website https://negroniweek.com/. The restaurant can give a negroni recipe, and a required $25 donation. In return, Campari will lend marketing support, the publication of the establishment’s negroni recipe, and then three complementary bottles of Campari.

The event, which had 10,000 partners last year, has raised about $2 million for charity since 2013. — JLG