11 Drinks if You Don’t Like a Negroni Sbagliato With Prosecco in It but Still Want To Be Gay
Feature image of Emma D’Arcy via HBOMax TikTok
If you’re any level of “too” online and any type of queer, then you have likely already seen the HBO Max promotional interview that made a splash last week between House of the Dragons co-stars Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke. There is a certain je ne sais queer about the moment that is difficult to explain. Much like a Negroni Sbagliato itself, you either get it or you don’t (and if you don’t — no shame!). Again, much like a Negroni Sbagliato, it’s not everyone’s cup of bizarrely alluring and specific celebrity content.
@streamonmax I’ll take one of each. #houseofthedragon
While the spell of this video doesn’t quite work on me, I do understand why it has worked on others. Something about the shape of “sbagliato” in their mouth or perhaps the cadence of “with prosecco in it” coupled with the little smirky lean in does have a spellbinding effect.
Perhaps you have already Googled what the fuck a Negroni Sbagliato is. That’s not what we’re here for (but truly, if you want to know, it’s your most basic ass 1:1:1 ratio recipe of equal parts Campari, sweet vermouth, and prosecco).
Maybe you even tried to order a Negroni Sbagliato this past weekend, and maybe you realized a Negroni Sbagliato is not worth the hype. It’s, like, a fine drink? Not disgusting by any means but also nothing really special??? So if you don’t want to order a Negroni Sbagliato with prosecco in it, there are plenty of other stunning drinks you can get your gay little hands on that also have a certain je ne sais queer about them. Here’s what they are, according to my queer cocktail lover expertise.
1. Club soda with half a lemon squeezed in
I cannot explain it, but this, despite its stark simplicity, is the mocktail version of ordering a Negroni Sbagliato with prosecco in it. Something about the excess of lemon is what pushes it into this territory. Bonus points if you want to add a splash of simple syrup for sweetness.
2. Grasshopper
Have you ever thought to yourself “hey, I wish those Andes mints I get with the check at the Olive Garden were a cocktail I could drink,” well, the Grasshopper is for you.
3. Boulevardier
The whole vibe of a Negroni Sbagliato is, like, a Negroni but make it different. (Sbagliato means “broken,” so you’re breaking the Negroni by subbing prosecco for gin.) A Boulevardier is like a Negroni but you sub bourbon or rye whiskey for the gin.
4. Campari soda
My favorite part of a Negroni is the Campari. The hangup I have a Negroni Sbagliato is that you get a lot less of that bitter Campari taste when you throw in prosecco, which doesn’t meld as well with Campari as gin does imo! Sometimes, I like to just get down to business and have a no-frills Campari soda.
5. Fernet + Coke
AKA a Fernando. Do you by chance WORK at the gay bar?
6. Ramos Gin Fizz
Ah, yes, the drink with a notoriously complex shaking method. I once had a bartender make me a Ramos Gin Fizz with foam so tall and stiff that she could insert a straw through the middle and it just stayed there. Gay magic!
7. Corpse Reviver No. 1
In rare instances, the sequel is more popular than the original, and that’s true of the Corpse Reviver No. 2, which is the much more commonly found drink. You could order the more standard option — much like you could just order a regular degular Negroni — OR, you could go with its less loved sibling, the Corpse Reviver No. 1.
8. Brandy Alexander
Indulgent! Has a name that sounds fancy and goofy all at once! This is the creamy, dessert-adjacent equivalent of a Negroni Sbagliato.
9. A vodka martini with an entire lemon squeezed in
It feels gauche to reveal exactly WHICH ultra famous celesbian orders this drink as her go-to given that I did not find out this information from an interview but rather by hearing her order it multiple times, but I promise you, a beloved celesbian loves this very lemon martini. If you also happen to know any go-to drink orders of famous celesbians, please feel free to allude to them in the comments.
10. Bud Light
Famously, not a cocktail. But this is all part of my masterplan to prove that Bud Light is the dykeiest domestic light beer, an assertion that people love to fight me on, and yet I persevere.
11. I mean, you can just order a Negroni
It’s a classic for a reason! Yes, I know as queer people it is our right to put special twists on the norm, but like, a Negroni is good!!!!! If anything, the way I sometimes fuck with it is by adding slightly less vermouth. But I will admit that “Negroni, light vermouth” does not have nearly the same ring to it as Negroni Sbagliato with prosecco in it.
Stunning!