This festive twist on a classic cocktail is perfect for cosy nights in

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HARVEY NICHOLS EDINBURGH

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‘Tis the season to be jolly, and nothing makes for a merrier start to the festivities than learning how to mix and mottle a classic cocktail, which you can use to impress your future guests once restrictions have been lifted. However, to make creating a tipple with potency and depth significantly easier, look no further than Harvey Nichols, which has recently launched its very own, limited-edition Harvey Nichols Blood Orange & Clove Negroni Cocktail in a bottle.

Lovingly created using Portobello Road Gin (made just a couple of miles from our flagship store in Knightsbridge), Italian sweet Vermouth, Campari bitters, tangy blood oranges, and warming cloves – all of which have been mixed and delicately stirred by hand in small batches – it’s the must-have cocktail for what is the most wonderful time of the year.

Although hotly debated, as the story goes the Negroni was invented in 1919 when Count Camillo Negroni requested that a bartender in Florence switch the soda in his Americano for gin, giving birth to the classic aperitivo. Since then, the Negroni has been enjoyed by the likes of Orson Welles, Ernest Hemingway, who famously named one of his dogs after it, James Bond, who sipped it when not in the mood for Martini, and the late, great chef Anthony Bourdain, who described it as 'a satanic hell broth’—in a good way, apparently.

A century on and the Negroni is officially one of the most-enjoyed and most-iconic cocktails on the planet. But it has never been quite as Christmassy as this version.

Available in two distinct sizes, both of which you’ll find in-store and online. The larger 700ml offering contains approximately seven servings, while the miniature 100ml bottle makes for the ideal stocking fillers or table place setting—just add a paper tag fixed around the neck with twine. Simply serve short in a rocks glass over plenty of ice cubes. Add a twist of orange peel or a slice of orange to garnish, and there you have it—fuss-free, festive cocktail perfection.

For more food and drink inspiration, check out Harvey Nichols Edinburgh’s new Instagram account for the Forth Floor Bar, Brasserie and Foodmarket can be found here @hnedinburgh_forthfloor. Like what you see? Then you’ll be pleased to hear the bar is open and currently serving non-alcoholic festive drinks, in accordance with current Scottish Government guidelines. The ideal escape from the madness of Christmas shopping.