Local bars to participate in national Negroni Week June 1-7

Several local watering holes will raise money for local charities this week as part of a national program called Negroni Week.

The program started in 2013 as a collaboration between Imbibe Magazine and Campari. Around 100 bars participated that first year, and in 2014, it grew to include more than 1,300 bars and raised more than $120,000 for local charities.

Members of the fledgling NWA Bartenders Guild, a new group dedicated to the art of bartending and craft cocktails, have organized the local version of the event, set to take place June 1-7 at seven participating bars around the region.

Four Fayetteville bars and three from Benton County will participate by creating their own versions of the classic cocktail called the Negroni, and will donate a portion of the proceeds to the local charity of their choice.

In Fayetteville, Maxine’s Tap Room will donate $1 from the sale of each Negroni to KUAF, Bordinos will donate to Magdalene Fayetteville, Nomad’s Music Lounge will donate to FoodCorps Arkansas, and Emelia’s Kitchen will donate to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

In Benton County, Oven and Tap, Pressroom, and Levi’s Gastrolounge & Low Bar will donate to the Arkansas Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Each place will put their own spin on the Negroni, typically made with only three ingredients: Campari, Gin, and Vermouth.

Bordinos, for example, will offer one classic style of the drink while the bar staff will create five of their own creative versions.

Maxine’s plans to get creative as well, by offering variations of the drink called the White Negroni, Mezcal Negroni, Beergroni, and others (see their full menu).

For more information about Negroni Week, visit negroniweek.com.