The Negroni Project
For those who don’t know, a Negroni is built from three equal parts — Gin, Vermouth, and Campari. Each is a complete drink in its own right, and together they form one of the world’s great cocktails. More on each of these elements later.
Strictly speaking, this makes a Negroni a cocktail, not a spirit.
At The Law, we treat the Negroni as a spirit in its own right — even if tradition says otherwise.
The foundation of our Negroni is a vermouth produced by us in partnership with a winemaker in the Granite Belt, then matured here in Maroochydore in a French-oak sherry barrel. We have been working on this component for several years now, refining balance, texture, and depth.
The second element is Maroochy Dry — a premium, juniper-forward gin designed to act as the structural spine of the drink. It provides the framework from which the full complexity of the Negroni can be assembled.
The final element — and the most confusing — is the Campari component. As this is the finishing touch.
Campari is, at its core, an amaro, even if Campari’s marketing department would prefer it to occupy a category of its own. What we have set out to build is not a clone, but a purpose-built amaro that supports rather than overwhelms the work already done by the vermouth and gin.
Its role is precise: to contribute a fresh orange overlay, a measured balancing sweetness, and additional complexity — but only where it is genuinely needed.
I’ve made no secret of my aim to build Australia’s best Negroni. I have also refused, so far, to sell a bottle until the recipe is right. This project more than any other was the one that convinced me to step away from the law and into distilling.
Those who love the layered complexity of great wines and fine whiskies will find a place for this new expression of a classic cocktail — bottled, batch-stabilised, and ready to take home.
But not yet.
Follow along on social media as I share more about the amaro that will bring this long-running project to its conclusion.
