Bitter, herbaceous, sweet, and strong, the Negroni is equally appropriate in the summer and winter, and there’s something about it that’s helped this cocktail endure as a classic tipple for roughly a century.

The Negroni is so beloved that specific renditions have become iconic moments in pop culture. Emma D’Arcy’s 2022 proclamation of their favorite drink order prompted people around the world to try making the bubbly Negroni Wrong — with prosecco — but before that, there was Stanley Tucci’s Negroni.

In April 2020, during the early months of the pandemic lockdown, theStanley Tucci: Searching for Italyhost and actor shared a clip of himself doing what so many others did during those mind-numbing weeks of staying at home: making cocktails. However, it was the way he made his cocktail — a Negroni that might even offend some devotees of classic mixology — that sent the internet into a spiral.

Tucci’s preferred method and recipe for making a Negroni aren’t traditional, but they’re delicious. I love a Negroni in nearly all its iterations, as long as it’s properly chilled, but theConclavestar’s riff is undeniably my favorite — and it might even convince some Negroni haters that they can enjoy this beverage.

If you’re looking for a potent drink to get you through an evening of entertaining in-laws, this is the Negroni for you. If you prefer a cocktail that isn’t slowly diluted by melting ice, this is the Negroni for you. And if you love the elegance of holding a coupe glass as you chat with friends or drift from room to room at a party, then yes — this is the Negroni for you.

From the very first step, Tucci’s Negroni departs from tradition. He pulls out a cocktail shaker and fills it with a “fair amount of ice,” a sacrilegious move considering the cocktail is usually stirred, not shaken.

The actor and cookbook author does rely on the same three ingredients as a standard Negroni — gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari — but he says that if you’re not a fan of the juniper-infused spirit, you can use vodka instead, yet another controversial suggestion. (Tucci uses Plymouth gin.)

While a Negroni typically calls for equal parts of each component (one ounce each of gin, vermouth, and Campari), Tucci switches up this ratio. He opts for two parts gin (two ounces) to one part vermouth and one part Campari (one ounce each).

Because this is a spirit-forward version of the cocktail, the gin you choose matters — select a higher-quality gin with a balanced flavor profile, featuring notes of juniper that aren’t overpowering and are layered with other botanicals. If it’s a gin you’d drink on the rocks or in a martini, it would work here.

The three ingredients are added to the cocktail shaker and shaken for about 10 seconds, until thoroughly chilled. Instead of pouring the cocktail over ice in a short, wide rocks glass, Tucci serves it up — chilled and without ice — straining the negroni into a coupe (he notes that you could also serve it in a martini glass).

Tucci does use an orange to garnish his drink, following the lead of most other Negroni recipes. Instead of a twist, he gently spritzes a half-moon orange slice on top of the drink, perfuming the cocktail with a bit of citrus juice, then lays the piece of fruit on top. It’s an elegant finish to an interesting take on a classic cocktail, and I’d argue it might even be better than the original.