I never need an excuse to make a negroni or seven, but a brand new bottle of Norwegian gin is a pretty good one. Vidda Tørr Gin is the second product to emerge from the Oslo Håndverksdestilleri in Norway, following on from Marka, their distinctive digestive bitter. Vidda (meaning “mountain plateau”) is inspired by traditional British dry “tørr” gins and is therefore juniper led, backed up by 10 Nordic botanicals found in the wild including pine shoots, meadowsweet, elderflower and heather.
The idea for VIDDA came from a trip to my cabin, which is illustrated on the bottle: it is where my family and I go to enjoy the pure air, the peace and quiet – our little piece of heaven, if you like. For me, our gin succeeds in capturing the essence of the mountainscapes and what it means to be Norwegian. Co-founder and partner in OHD, Marius Vestnes
The result is a floral, balanced gin, coming in at 43% ABV, that will soon be turning up in the world’s best gin and cocktail bars. The icing on the kvæfjordkake is the stunning bottle design, depicting Norwegian mountains, rivers, forests and wildlife on dark glass. It’s got Christmas present written all over it. But remember folks, a bottle of Vidda isn’t just for Christmas, it’s also for Nordic negronis.
Let’s get down to business then. We’ve got our Norwegian gin, we’re obviously using Campari (hailing from Novara, Italy), and my sweet vermouth of choice is the wonderful Belsazar Red from the Baden region of Germany – a proper European ménage à trois. Chuck them together in to a glass in equal parts, and some ice, and you’ve got yourself a negroni, simple as that. An orange twist would’t hurt. You can make an individual one with the specs below, or just scale up and make a batch for a party (or the fridge). If you want to dilute and blend it a little first, stir everything in an ice-filled mixing glass. If you prefer it to evolve in the glass, just leave it be. Some get rather animated on the subject…
25 ml of Vidda Tørr Gin
25 ml of Belsazar Red Vermouth
25 ml of Campari
Combine all ingredients in old fashioned glass with block ice
Garnish with orange wedge or twist
It’s worth remembering that vermouth has a pretty short life span once its open, so keep it well sealed in the fridge and it should last a month or two. Of course, if you mix it with gin and Campari, it should last a little longer, so you really have no choice but to make yourself a negroni. Excuse me whilst I go and pour one I whipped up earlier.
