Drinking Culture

In Florence, gin culture revolves around a single hour: early-evening aperitivo time. That's when bars along the banks of the Arno and around Piazza della Repubblica fill up. At the center of it all isn't the Gin and Tonic, but the Negroni, equal parts gin, sweet red vermouth, and Campari, garnished with an orange slice instead of lemon.

Legend has it the drink was born in 1919 at Caffè Casoni on what's now Via de' Tornabuoni. Count Camillo Negroni is said to have asked his bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to make his Americano stronger, prompting Scarselli to swap the soda for gin. Whether the count was actually a count is historically disputed. The café still exists today under the name Caffè Giacosa and actively keeps the story alive, complete with a Negroni Week each summer.

The Gin and Tonic itself is served fairly simply around here, with little garnish. The playful towers of botanicals you might see in Spanish bars are nowhere to be found. It's served in the large, bulbous balloon glass, which holds plenty of ice and traps the aroma of the botanicals before you drink it cold.

Tuscany doesn't have gin palaces like London does; the region is too devoted to wine for that. Instead, small distilleries like Peter in Florence offer tours through their own facility, with tastings held right where the botanicals are grown. Guests can hold iris roots or juniper branches in their hands before sampling the finished distillate.