There's a New 'World's Largest Negroni' in Town
Yesterday was the first day of Negroni Week — an annual celebration launched in 2013 that now sees participants at "thousands of venues around the world" honor the mix of gin, vermouth, and Campari. But some tributes to the Italian cocktail are bigger than others... literally. In fact, one in Thailand was literally the biggest ever recorded, setting a Guinness World Record for "Largest Negroni Cocktail."
To kick off the week, yesterday, the Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok hotel mixed up an over 167-gallon take on the cocktail — officially measuring 633.65 liters — to claim the world record, topping the previous holder by 129.65 liters (over 34 gallons). Their recipe: Equal parts Bulldog London Dry Gin, Campari bitters, and Cinzano 1757 Rosso Vermouth were poured into a custom-built, 5.5-foot by 4.5-foot acrylic container surrounded by ice. The drink was, apparently, more than the hotel's bar wanted to handle and was prepared and displayed in its Urban Oasis outdoor garden.
Courtesy of Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok
But in the end, everything went according to plan with a Guinness World Records adjudicator ready to declare the drink a record-setter on the spot. Not long after, spectators moved to the hotel's rooftop bar, Bar.Yard, where tastes of the record-breaking Negroni were served. The record-breaker will continue to be served in a one-tenths replica ice cube glass at the hotel's cocktail bar and Italian restaurant until it's gone.
Courtesy of Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok
"We're thrilled to have kicked off the tenth Anniversary of Negroni Week in Thailand with a bang," stated Patrick Both, the area general manager of luxury and lifestyle in Thailand for Kimpton's parent company, IHG Hotels & Resorts. "It was truly wonderful to see Urban Oasis and Bar.Yard bustling with revelers from all around Thailand who have gathered to mark this milestone with us."
With this new record, one could say the ball is back in America's court: According to Guinness World Records, the previous 504-liter (about 133-gallon) record-holder was poured at The Sicilian Butcher in Phoenix, Arizona by a pair of Americans — Sheldon Wiley and Joey Maggiore — on October 24, 2018.
