For first-time sippers, the Negroni (gin, Campari, sweet vermouth) has a reputation for being exceedingly pungent and bittersweet. You may notice a slight grimace or the utterance, “This is too sweet and syrupy” or “This is realllllly bitter.” For those folks (and others looking to shake up their Negroni routine), the Goldilocks Negroni is just right.

This lighter variation uses lemon-infused gin as the base spirit and subs in Italian dry vermouth for sweet vermouth, bringing the bright herbaceous notes of the gin to the foreground. Instead of relying on Campari for sweetness and botanicals, I use another amaro, Luxardo Bitter Bianco, that’s softer on the palate and clear as opposed to the characteristic cardinal hue from the Campari. Luxardo Bitter Bianco is a distilled herbal infusion with notes of cardamom, rhubarb and orange zest with bittering notes from the wormwood and quinine. Warm herbal spices pep up the lemony notes in the gin while marigold and cosmo petals hoist the punchy citrus notes to the palate.

In a bar tin filled with ice, combine gin, Luxardo and vermouth. Shake vigorously with ice for 10 seconds and fine-strain over fresh ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with marigold and cosmo petals and orange peel. Makes 1 cocktail.