Welcome to The Negronist

Claiming to be the best hotel bar in Ischgl naturally raises expectations. It's therefore a shame when those expectations aren't met. As you can see from the picture, my first attempt was to save the drink from drowning. The attempt was somewhat successful, but even when properly chilled and with fresh ice, the contents would not have been anything special. So even in the best hotel bar in Ischgl, I should have opted for a classic version.

Every year during our skiing vacation, we enjoy coming to the Salnerhof for dinner. In line with the development of Ischgl, the restaurant has evolved into more of a fine dining establishment, which I personally find rather unfortunate for the kind of experience I want on a skiing vacation. Unfortunately, the Negroni hasn't kept up with this development. For one thing, I imagine I've had better drinks here in the past. For another, the drink was nowhere near restaurant quality this year. The drink was drinkable, which was the only positive thing to say about it. Next time, I'll go straight for the excellent red wine that the waiter recommended to me afterwards.

The eye likes to drink too, and that applies not only to the drink itself, but certainly also to the location. This was all the more true in the case of The Bar at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Vienna, which is housed in a truly impressive building. It was all the more wonderful that the drink was also a real highlight in terms of its appearance by European standards. After my first attempt with mezcal a little earlier, I decided to go for the classic version in this case and was not disappointed. An absolutely good Negroni, which was only missing that special something or, as I like to say, “an edge.” Nevertheless, highly recommended in every respect!

After returning from Dubai, the Negronist spent the rest of January taking a little Dry January break. So it was fitting that the first ever Hyrox was scheduled for early February in Vienna. It felt even better to celebrate the successful completion of the race with a Mezcal Negroni in the bar of the 25hours Hotel that evening. Even though the drink cannot be described as an excessive highlight in terms of appearance or taste, it still tasted emotionally outstanding ;-) Otherwise, the drink was unfortunately a little too solid overall for a mezcal variant, and the ice cubes did the rest.

If you're looking for the best view in Dubai, then Cloud 22 at Atlantis The Royal Hotel is the place to be. As soon as you enter the pool area, you feel like you're in a magical place. We had booked a spot at the bar for the afternoon and enjoyed Rosé and the great atmosphere. The Negroni was supposed to round off the afternoon with a dreamlike sunset, although I naturally had my doubts about the quality of a “pool” bar. However, the bartender Liam accepted the challenge I presented him with and conjured up an absolute highlight in the glass. In addition to Tanqueray Ten, he used Yzaguirre 1884 as vermouth and managed to create exactly the perfect blend I always look for. Yes, the orange didn't belong there, but Liam had done a wonderful job with the zest and removed the orange immediately after my comment, saying that he agreed with me and that it was in line with the bar's guidelines. The combination was definitely one of my all-time highlights!

After a wonderful dinner at an Uzbek restaurant, we looked for a bar with a view of the Burj Al Arab and ended up at the Cala Vista bar, which offered the wonderful view we had hoped for. In keeping with Dubai standards, the bar manager of the Italian restaurant was, of course, Italian, and he personally took care of mixing our drinks. After I told him about my previous “problems” with the roughness of the drinks, he mixed me a wonderful Mezcal Negroni, which was perfectly balanced and more in line with Western standards. He also said that the current trend for the international crowd in Dubai is to mix drinks on the milder side. Only the ice cube was a little melted and I have drunk more exciting mixtures, so it just about merits a 4.5.