Milan - Bar Basso and the Negroni Sbagliato

This was my second visit to Bar Basso, a bar I have a special affection for as it played an important role in developing my interest in Italian cocktails. I’d actually found it to begin with as I was searching for bars in Milan which were old or historic, and whilst Bar Basso “only” dates back to the 1940s it is, of course, important in cocktail history as the birthplace of the Negroni Sbagliato, apparently made by accident when a barman here mistakenly grabbed a bottle of prosecco instead of the gin. I find it rather satisfying as it fills a gap in the spectrum of aperitivi ranging from the Spritz to the Negroni - a missing link of sorts. It also continues the lineage of drinks starting with the Milano e Torino, to the Americano, to the Negroni, and finally the Sbagliato. At each step of that progression it seems to have alternated between making the drink lighter (e.g. the addition of soda water to turn the Milano e Torino into an Americano) and making it boozier (Count Negroni’s request to add gin). It’s a bit hard to imagine that there might in the future be further descendants from the Sbagliato, but who knows?

The first time I went to Bar Basso was later in the evening, and there was only one other customer there, so we stood at the bar, which is always my preference. This time as we arrived in the early evening - aperitivo time - the bar area was quite full, so regrettably we were shepherded away to a table, which didn’t really have the same atmosphere.

The Sbagliato was still good regardless. It’s a great drink - it still feels a bit like a Negroni, unlike, say, the Campari Spritz. The vermouth helps it to keep a lot of the depth of flavour but it’s just, well, less boozey. My loyalty to the classic Negroni will of course remain, but now and again it’s nice to have something a bit lighter instead.

On my first visit I’d attempted to ask the barman what their second most famous/popular drink is. They gave me something served in a giant goblet with a single large chunk of ice in. Alas at the time I didn’t catch the name (I vaguely recall something like “demisec” - ?!), and not really being a cocktail geek back then, I didn’t pay much attention to what they made it with. So on this visit I was rather hoping if I showed them the picture from last time, they’d straight away know what it was, and make me another. Sadly that didn’t work, they said they didn’t serve any specific drink in that glass, although they do often use it for a standard Negroni. I guess it was probably a Spritz of some sort last time, but we’ll never know. This time I just asked for a Negroni in the ridiculous goblet.