Negroni tasting with House of Peroni @ Harvey Nichols

Well. If ever there's a cocktail that can help solve a sore throat, I think I had it tonight. I was invited to Harvey Nics by The House of Peroni, to celebrate bringing a little bit of Italy to Manchester.

House of Peroni create cool, quirky pop up events around the UK to celebrate Italian lifestyle, culture, food and drink. If you've read my posts on Rome or Elba Island, you'll know how much I'm absolutely in love with the country. The food, culture and lifestyle absolutely resonates with me and I love the quote "buon cibo, buon vino, buoni amici", which roughly translates as good food, good fine, and good friends.

House of Peroni are offering lots of quirky events throughout November, and tonight for us was all about 'The Love Of Negroni' - trying five different negroni cocktails before choosing our favourite.

I'll admit. I don't think I've ever knowingly drank Negroni, so I was intrigued to say the least. I had a stonking cold and headache, and was brought a really warming Winter Garden cocktail upon arrival (their take on mulled wine - Peroni, Brandy, Falernum, lemon, apple and sugar) - and it was lovely.

If like me you aren't too familiar with Negroni, allow me to introduce you... 'sweet vermouth and bitter notes define this bold yet refreshing drink' - a classic recipe would involve;

20ml gin
15ml Peroni Nastro Azzurro
20ml sweet vermouth
20ml Campari
Garnished with an orange peel twist.

It's sophisticatedly sip-worthy and would be the perfect pre-dinner palate cleanser.

After the Winter Garden cocktail, we had some beautiful canapes, including beef tartare, salmon & avocado mousse.

We then moved over to the bar to learn about the history of Negroni and got to try the five variations of the cocktail. Peroni's Master of Mixology, Simone Caporale, talked us through the different notes and flavours in each cocktail.

My favourite two were the Negroni Secco (lime, Peroni, rum, campari & sugar) (pictured below), and the Fruttato (bllueberry extract, Peroni, Vermouth, gin, campari).

It was such a lovely evening, and affirmed my amorous feelings towards Italian culture. Maybe it's the Negroni talking, but regardless - it's definitely worth a visit!

It's not just Negroni tasting though, there's a private dining experience with a 'feasting' menu, Italian brunch (including something called Purgatorio - spicy baked eggs with njud, YUM), a pasta making course and more.

To grab your own slice of Italian action, you need to book on to the events:

The House Of Peroni's Amare l'Italia pop-up from the 9th - 12th November at Harvey Nichols Manchester, here's the link: http://www.harveynichols.com/news/2016/09/27/italian-living/?restaurant=manchester-dining

The guys at Peroni kindly paid for my Negroni experience - but as ever, all thoughts and opinions are my own!