I’m not really a chocolate and roses kinda gal.

But a good cocktail? Now, that’s a Valentine treat worth toasting to.

Ever since going to the Campari bar in Milan in December, we’ve been on a negroni kick that has caused us to go through an amount of Campari that would alarm anyone who isn’t Italian. We even introduced Nana {aka my Grandma} to her first negroni while we were visiting her for her 100th birthday in January. She was immediately a fan (for obvious reasons).

Last week, after a bit of a rough afternoon, the Mr. surprised me with, you guessed it, a negroni. But this wasn’t just any regular negroni. Oh, no, no, no. It was all fancy, smoked and topped with something whipped.

“Whoa! What is this?!”, I excitedly queried in between sips. “A smoked negroni sour!”, he proudly replied, “With aquafabba on top… so, you know, it’s like healthy or whatever.” I mean, sure health is great and all, but can we just go back to the fact that this is a negroni that is smoked???! Oh, and that white fluff? You guys! It’s whipped aquafaba (as in that liquid in a chickpea can #strangebuttrue). Talk about genius! And being resourceful, and not being wasteful, and talk about a good excuse to incorporate more chickpeas into your diet (or smoked negroni sours, depending on how you look at it). I knew instantly this drink was as much a keeper as Mr. RC himself. I demanded he recreate them for the site (and me, obvi) immediately. After all, between the looks and the taste, they seemed only too fitting for Valentine’s Day. But, tbh, no Valentine, or special day, is needed to toast with one of these. They’re good enough all on their own, any day of the week ;)

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ ounces gin

1 ½ ounces Campari

1 ounce fresh lime juice

½  ounce triple sec

Whipped aquafaba, to top + serve

DIRECTIONS

Combine everything, except the aquafaba, in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake and pour into a glass (coupe work best). Top with aquafaba. With a bell glass (any regular glass will work that has the same size opening as your serving glass), light a match, extinguish and let the smoke fill the chamber of the glass on top. After 30 seconds, remove the top glass and serve immediately. This will give the aquafaba a nice smokey flavor that will balance with the sweet and tartness of the cocktail.