Alan Cumming led Campari’s Negroni Week campaign. The Negroni itself began as one guest’s special order. How the week went, and what to pour.
Around 1919 in Florence, according to Campari, a count decided his usual Americano needed a change. Count Camillo Negroni asked for gin where the soda would go, and the Negroni followed.
A century later, Alan Cumming is making the same argument on screen.
In Campari’s latest Stay Bitter spot, the actor mixes the drink, asks whether loving bitterness makes him bitter, and then asks the viewer whether they are one of the few. Alan Cumming’s Negroni Week campaign wrapped on September 27.
It is that the drink began as one person’s refusal to order the usual.
The Count Who Asked for Something Different
Campari’s account is specific. The count wanted the Americano with a touch of gin, inspired by his last trip to London and its gin scene. The Florentine bartender obliged and swapped the Americano’s lemon wedge for an orange slice, which marked the drink as new. Per the same account, the result was first called the Americano with a touch of gin. The equal-parts recipe of Campari, sweet vermouth and gin has barely moved since.
One point on sourcing: this is the brand’s telling of the origin story. Other versions exist, and they should be checked before anyone treats this one as settled history.
Why Cumming Fits the Story
Campari describes Cumming as an award winning actor, host and producer. The Spirits Business identifies him as the US host of The Traitors. He leads The Bitter Nine, a group Campari chose for distinct perspectives across entertainment, fashion, media, food and beverage, hospitality and photography. “I’ve always found the things that make people different are usually the most interesting things about them,” Cumming said in the release.
The campaign borrows its premise from the brand’s own history. The 1970s “Nine out of 10,000” ad claimed only nine in 10,000 people were sophisticated or bold enough to appreciate Campari’s bitterness. That is a brand that once told 9,991 of every 10,000 people they weren’t bold enough, now inviting all of them back.
How the Week Went
Negroni Week 2026 ran September 21 to 27, its 14th edition. Campari said more than 1,000 bars across Southeast Asia and Taiwan took part, billing it the region’s biggest edition yet. Singapore alone listed more than 55 participating venues.
In the United States, the menus told the story better than the numbers. Dante in Greenwich Village ran a Negroni Sessions menu, Bar Volpe in Boston poured a three-drink flight, and Chicago’s Nightcap put nine Negronis on one menu in a 23-seat bar. Nine Negronis in 23 seats is the count’s special order taken to its logical end.
The final tally isn’t in. As of October 1, I found no published 2026 total for participating bars or money raised. The benchmark is Campari’s own 2025 figure: more than 15,000 bars and restaurants across 97 countries, raising more than $700,000 for the Slow Food Negroni Week Fund.
What Is in the Glass
These are my tasting observations. The facts come from Campari’s release.
Campari is 24% alcohol by volume and, in its words, is infused from herbs, aromatic plants and fruit. It takes a third of the glass, so the bitterness arrives first and leaves last. Sweet vermouth answers with dark red fruit, and gin’s juniper holds the back of the palate.
Stir it, don’t shake it. Stirring chills the drink close to freezing and adds water slowly, which keeps the texture silky and the color a clear, deep ruby. Shaking clouds it and thins the flavor.
Finish with an orange slice and fresh ice in a rocks glass. The citrus oils lift the top of the glass and bridge bitter and sweet, and the fresh ice slows dilution so the last sip stays close to the first.
In select U.S. markets, drinkers could upload a receipt for up to $15 back on a Negroni during the promotion. Campari’s release says the celebration continues through Negroni season, but check eligibility before ordering for the rebate.
FAQ
Who is Alan Cumming in Campari’s Negroni Week campaign?
He is the actor, host and producer leading The Bitter Nine, nine creative personalities in Campari’s Stay Bitter campaign. The Spirits Business identifies him as the US host of The Traitors.
How did Negroni Week 2026 go?
It ran September 21 to 27 with participating bars across the US and Asia. Final 2026 totals for bars and funds raised had not been published as of October 1. In 2025, Campari reported more than 15,000 venues in 97 countries and more than $700,000 raised.
How was the Negroni invented?
Per Campari, around 1919 in Florence, Count Camillo Negroni asked for his Americano with gin instead of soda. The bartender added an orange slice instead of a lemon wedge to mark the new drink.
Order a Negroni
Order a Negroni this month at a bar that stirs it, and ask for the orange. Then try it the count’s way: change one thing. A different gin or a different vermouth is enough. The drink has been through that edit before and has survived it for more than a century.
