Parafante Fig Leaf Negroni

Parafante Fig Leaf Negroni is a tasty ready-to-drink twist on a classic Negroni made with Parafante’s Fig Leaf Liqueur, already reviewed on Travel Distilled.

a Bottle of Parafante RTD Fig Leaf Negroni — Parafante RTD Fig Leaf Negroni

Ready-to-drink Negronis in a bottle are like buses this week. You don’t see one for ages and then two come along at once. The first was the one from Bone Idyll, made with their whisky barrel-aged gin, and that was brilliant. Now comes Parafante’s Fig Leaf Negroni, made with their Fig Leaf Liqueur that I’ve already reviewed and is another fantastic spirit.

To quickly recap, the Fig Leaf Liqueur originates in Calabria, the ‘toe’ of Italy, which is famous for its produce, including figs. One of the two founders of Parafante also comes from Calabria, and the Fig Leaf Liqueur is a delightful mix of sweet and earthy, being made from the leaves of the fig tree and not the figs themselves.

Fig Leaf Negroni

I wonder who had the bright idea of using it in a Negroni? Because it certainly is a bright idea. A very bright idea! But then, both the company founders have years of experience working in the bar and restaurant business, in both London and Paris, so won’t be short of bright ideas.

The ready-to-drink bottled Negroni mixes the liqueur with Italian bitters, some vermouth, and an un-named London gin. The result is quite amazing. The Negroni has that familiar bitterness that you expect, but this time the sweetness seems to come through a little more, along with a hint of smoke. I’m amazed we didn’t scoff the lot at one sitting, it’s so more-ish, but we limited ourselves to one so that we could make it last longer.