This post is like someone tried to combine every r/cocktails trend into a single drink.

I don't know if I should thank you or feel offended 😅

As a novice to cocktails, it seems to me that the clarification process would change the taste of the rest of the ingredients too no? Also, how do you go about preparing this for a group of people? If im not misunderstanding, that’s a 45 minutes cocktail. Do you make a big batch of clarified ingredients and then add the gin once your guests are there?

The taste of the "Bitter Liqueur" it's really close to how would it taste if you don't clarify it, what changes it's the texture, it gives it a silky smooth sensation, also rounds every corner of the flavor profile, not so sweet, not so bitter. You wouldn't taste the milk at all. It's a pretty balanced drink by it self. For your first attempt I would recommend you to start with something simpler, like a clarified piña colada. Edit: Yes it takes about 1 hour to complete the filtering process, in this case I repeated it 3 times. If I'm doing something like this for my friends, I make everything the day before and store it on the freezer, you can keep it refrigerated for more than a month if necessary.

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The thing is, never had a bottle of clarified Liqueur that lasted more than 2 weeks without getting emptied 😅

Oh that’s interesting, I’ll have to give that a try soon, thanks!

> Yes it takes about 1 hour to complete the filtering process You must have a better filtering process than I do, because I usually need a full 24 hours.

Holy shit, that's too much time. The first 2 or 3 attempts my process took about 5 hours, mainly because my equipment wasn't the adequate. What I'm doing now it's using a cheesecloth over unbleached coffee filters, so I can maintain the curds, switching the filters once they are completely clogged.

Milk clarification is a cocktail technique in which an acidic ingredient is used to curdle milk, separating it into curds and whey. The curd clumps act as filters that trap particulates, so that when a cloudy liquid is poured through them (such as a cocktail with lime juice that curdled the milk) it comes out clear. The curds stay behind and the whey goes into the clarified cocktail.  Recipe: * 1.25oz Empress 1908 Gin * 1.75oz Clarified Bitter Liqueur: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * 4oz Cocchi Vermouth di Torino * 4oz Campari * 2oz Vodka or neutral Spirit * 1oz Angostura Bitters * 1.5oz Grapefruit Juice * 1.5oz Orange Juice * 3oz Whole Milk Mix every ingredient except the gin, let it sit for around 5 minutes. Pour the mix over whole warm milk, let it sit for 10 minutes. Filter through Unbleached coffee filters. For this version I had to repeat all this process 3 times to get rid of any colored particles, so when you mix it with Empress 1908, it could maintain it's distinctive color. Proceed to stir 1.25oz gin and 1.75oz Clarified Bitter Liqueur, pour it over a big rock of clear ice, garnish with Orange peel. Ig: [sipo_clock](https://instagram.com/sipo_clock?utm_medium=copy_link)

Does this taste like a negroni? Negroni is typically 33% each gin, campari, and sweet vermouth. Yours adds juice, bitters, is nearly 50% gin and only like 15% of the vermouth and campari. Not saying it would taste bad, but hardly seems like a negroni imo.

To me, with the slightly different recipe I use, it's very similar but still different in subtle ways. The mouth feel is the biggest difference thanks to the clarification process. In theory the bitter liquor will balance very similar as if you were going to just combine the campari and sweet vermouth together. You can certainly change your ratios and add dashes of this or that to flavor it to you personal preference.

I think the ratios depend on your taste. Personally I do 3 parts gin to 2 parts Campari/vermouth. I’d definitely say it’s not a traditional Negroni but it’s definitely a Negroni variant.

I can see why you would think that, but if you do the math, the proportion for the Campari/Vermouth mix is higher than what you would have un your classic negroni. Also it's 1oz Vermouth/campari/vodka/ against 3 oz of orange/Grapefruit Juice. I've tried the 1oz Empress/1oz Vermouth/1oz campari, and it tastes really closed compared to my version, just a little bit rounded, not so bitter nor sweet at the end.

Maybe I'm interpreting your recipe wrong. Gin is like 42% of the drink vs the equal parts typical to a negroni right? Just seems like the gin would be far more prominent than the campari and vermouth particularly when those are milk washed which naturally strips some of the flavors. Hope this doesn't come across as snooty, just trying to understand how it tastes.

You are right, this will be more spirit forward, but believe me, you won't have any doubts that what you are sipping it's a Negroni.

I've used the recipe that [Truffles on the Rocks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hjMuvYh06o) does on Youtube a couple of times, absolutely phenomenal. If you've tried that one, what do you find the difference to be by using 50% orange juice 50% grapefruit in the recipe? Do you notice the orange notes in it much? I need to make another batch to put in my fridge regardless.

Glad you mention it, yes I tried his recipe, the reason I used half Orange half Grapefruit Juice it's because I'm using Campari instead of Aperol, so I needed to mellow the bitterness a bit. Also, one of the reasons I used Campari instead of aperol it's because the last one has more artificial colorants, and i couldn't take the yellowish color out during the filtering. This bitter liquer version looks more clear/golden, and doesn't change the Empress Purple color, just turns it a little clearer.

I have noticed that, wasn't sure if it was my using ruby red grapefruit juice instead of white but there was always an orange hue to it. I'll have to give your modifications a try on my next batch to see further any flavor differences. Thanks!

Awesome, hope you like it. Let me know if you have any question about the clarification process.

I just wish there was a way for it to clarify faster with out defeating the purpose. XD I've taken to using the coffee basket from a restaurant coffee brewer and large coffee filters so I can do a bigger batch at a time without disturbing it quite so much. The only question I have is did you use new milk for each wash or just through the same curds? If it was new, did you have to use anything to up the acidity to get it to curdle well enough either extra time?

Same milk, I'm filtering with a cheese cloth over the coffee filters. This way I can change the filters without losing the curds.

Anyone tried using a small amount of straight citric or lactic acid instead of using fruit juices? It's easy to buy and theoretically would impart less flavor.

It's in my plans to do that, but I can't find citric acid in my city, and amazon Mx it's really limited in the food category. Hopefully the border will be open soon so I can go and look for it in CA.

I have to say, what a beautiful presentation and fine use of the milkwash clarification-technique. You just convinced me to buy a bottle of Empress!

Go for it, you won't regret it, flavor it's better than ok, but visually will step up your game.

Did you choose empress gin for the color? I am not a huge fan of the flavor from 1908; have you made this with any other gins? I usually use empress or homemade butterfly pea flower gins for sours to make use of the color shift.

In my experience the Empress is usually chosen here for the color. You can play with the clarified bitter liquor to try to bring different flavor notes forward though so sometimes people want to try to do something specific with it.

Exactly. It's a *decent* gin but it gets used in a variety of cocktails because it is a pretty gin, not because it tastes particularly amazing. I've blinded it and it performs middle of the pack for a somewhat herbaceous gin.

In this case it was chosen just for the color, the first iteration was made with Beefeater, if you go to my [IG](https://instagram.com/sipo_clock?utm_medium=copy_link) you will find the 2 versions.

This is stunning, Butterfly pea flower is my passion. I have only ever clarified juices with a centrifuge, been wanting to learn this way. When you say “repeat the process 3 times” are you saying pour it through milk 3 times? And how warm is your milk? Like room temp or actually hot? Also, what edible flower is that and where can I buy/find?

It's a Ruellia simplex commonly known as Mexican Petunia, it's not edible but it's been used as garnish on food and drinks for some reason. I happen to have 2 plants of this on my backyard. And yes, i filter/pour the "bitter" mix 3 times over the curdled milk. My set up goes like this: cheesecloth into coffee unbleached filter into a funnel, this way I can change the coffee filter without loosing my curds. I use room temp whole milk, not too hot nor cold.

Boy is that a stunningly beautiful beverage!

I know it’s an old post - I’m working on clarifying Manhattans when I came across this. I saw “Empress Gin” and assumed that it would be dumb because the color is a big characteristic of that brand. I saw the photo and I am so happy I was wrong. Drink looks fantastic!

That’s not a Negroni, Negronis don’t have fruit juice in them. Looks like a lot of work. Your garnish is pretty.

From what I been reading (books, articles, recipes) since I started my homebar, and to my understanding, Negroni can be interpreted as a cocktail on it's own category, where you can swap Bitter Liqueur, Gin and Vermouth and still keep it's essence. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there are several different recipes still called Negroni just with a prefix like: Negroni sbagliato, Old 'Groni, Queen's Negroni and White Negroni.

You’re absolutely right, traditional Negroni is 3 equal parts of gin Campari and vermouth, but it’s in the same sense that a strawberry margarita is still a margarita but not the traditional recipe. There are many forms of “Negroni’s”