Over 120 local bars are celebrating, that bartender’s old faithful, the Negroni this week. Each will present the original, a twist or even fully-fledged menu of Negronis (with $1 or more of each cocktail sold going to the bar’s chosen cause!) We’ve scoured the Negroni Week 2018 program to let you in on the weirdest and most wonderful offerings of this boozily bittersweet drink, found this week around Melbourne.

—

The largest Negroni line-up comes from Juliet Melbourne with a whopping 11 different Negronis to try, including a Hot Buttered version. They’re followed by White Oaks Saloon with a 7-strong list and Siglo also with 7 twists to try.

The Noble Experiment wins the most quirky concept with their Negroni lollypops. At Four Pillars Distillery you’ll be greeted with a Build Your Own Negroni Bar. Beneath Driver Lane is offering an exclusive barrel-aged cocktail, with your only chance to taste it during Negroni Week. At Hop Temple they’re upping the strength of the drink even further with Negroni Boilermakers.

For the most bang for your buck, the most generous bars this week are The Noble Experiment and Campari House, offering $5 and $3 respectively from each drink sold to their chosen charities. Meanwhile, the most affordable Negronis will be found for just $12 at the Silverlake Social, Temperance Hotel and Byblos Bar (do good, order two).

There’ll be a flood of Australian Negronis too: visit Ladro, Ladro Tap, Gingerboy, Shadowboxer, Siglo, White Oaks or Bar None to try the classic cocktail updated to feature local ingredients.

Going big, Garden State Hotel have created a pop-up Negroni Store with Four Pillars. Pick up a bottled Negroni and other gin goodies after work to take home. Collabing with Campari, The Everleigh will transform their Elk Room into ‘Cafe Casoni‘ in ode to the bar in which the Negroni was invented. They’ll have live jazz, cheesy spaghetti and a sextet of cocktails to try at a free party this Wednesday. Uncle is offering up a four-course Vietnamese Negroni matched dinner (pho-gronis anyone?) Section 8 is hosting a cocktail-making masterclass with free Negronis for the first 50 participants.

And finally, the freakin’ fanciest Negroni iterations may be a toss-up between Collins Quarter’s charred, salted Black Negroni and Maha’s menu studded with saffron, truffles and activated charcoal. Saluti!