Well, once again, TikTok has taken us down a hilariously nonsensical rabbit hole: that of the Negroni … Sbagliato … with prosecco in it. The social media trend has now translated to real life, and bartenders, let us tell you, have some thoughts.
It all started with what could have just been a cutesy interview between House of the Dragon costars Olivia Cooke and Emma D’Arcy, but has since turned into a viral sound that TikTok users are using to reveal the most random details about their lives. In the interview clip, which HBO Max shared on TikTok, Cooke (Alicent Hightower in the show) asks D’Arcy (Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen) what their drink of choice is, to which D’Arcy, in their signature deep whisper, replies, “a Negroni.” “I was going to say the same thing,” Cooke says, before D’Arcy adds, “Sbagliato.” “Oooh,” Cooke responds. “With Prosecco in it,” D’Arcy adds, with a smirk. “Oh, stunnin’,” Cooke says.
It may be the inexplicably sexy mix of Cooke’s posh British accent and D’Arcy’s raspy voice that turned TikTok on its head, but since the video’s release earlier this month, the reaction clips have not stopped coming. Some users are using the sound to address their bisexuality, others are replacing the words with their own captions to talk about their dating preferences, and others are actually making or ordering the drink.
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BAZAAR.com—equal parts entranced and annoyed by the trend—speaks with bartenders, mixologists, and spirit world bosses about the Negroni Sbagliato craze, and whether they’re loving it or getting ready to quit their jobs.
Of course, Campari is having the best time with the Sbagliato trend. Anne Louise Marquis, the spirit brand’s portfolio brand ambassador, says they are excited about the online buzz it has gotten thanks to Cooke and D’Arcy, and see it as a natural progression in terms of drink trends amid the rise in popularity of natural wine.
“The Sbagliato is a delicious effervescent variation of the Negroni and a classic in its own right. It was created in 1967 at Bar Basso in Milan when Mirko Stocchetto ‘mistakenly’ used prosecco in a Negroni instead of gin. Sbagliato means ‘broken’ or ‘mistake,’ but we like to see the mistake as an innovation,” she says. “It’s indeed my favorite variation—perfect for aperitivo, cocktail hour, and even brunch (dare I say). It also fits in the current trend of disco aperitivo.”
Erin Davey, the corporate beverage manager of TAO Group, says Cathédrale at Moxy East Village has seen about a 30 percent bump in Negronis after the video started trending, “which was a pleasant surprise.”
She learned about the trend on—what do you know—her For You page on TikTok and actually loves the drink, because “it gives all the bittersweet goodness of a Negroni with the added benefit of some effervescence—plus, lower ABV, so you can drink more of them.” She likes to switch out the sweet vermouth with a blanc vermouth for “a little more delicacy.”
Trevor Easton Langer the head bartender at New York’s Bar Calico and Georgia Room, tells BAZAAR, “In the entire time I’ve been working here (since November 2021), no one has ever once ordered a Negroni Sbagliato, until this weekend.” He doesn’t hate the trend, he says, and it’s really not a bad drink, though it’s meant to be drank in the summer rather than fall. “It’s just funny how social media can influence so many people into ordering something they wouldn’t usually order,” he adds.
Greta Wolf, manager at The Cauldron in the Financial District, has seen roughly a 20 percent increase in Negroni orders this month. “Not all customers have mentioned the TikToks, but a few have had conversations with my bartenders about it,” she says. “We had never heard of it before we got orders,” she adds, but now, they are considering turning their prosecco station at the bar into a Negroni Sbagliato station.
Linden Pride, co-owner of iconic hot spot Dante, says the Sbagliato is a “gateway Negroni” and essentially acts as the next step up from an Aperol Spritz. He says that despite it being currently trendy on TikTok, it actually is a classic cocktail with a strong history—and one that people have been drinking in Italy “for 100 years.” (See at the end for Dante’s Golden Sbagliato recipe.)
Gabe Moncada, a bartender at restaurant Eléa on the Upper West Side, has gotten only a few TikTok-inspired orders because of the neighborhood’s primarily older population, but he’s all about these cocktail trends. “A lot of restaurants and bars do specials for events (Super Bowl, Oscars, holidays, et cetera), and they always help boost sales and create intrigue around a place. But from what I’ve seen in person and online, the most successful promotions are when drinks tend to be centered around a particular trend or current event. People go out of their way to try these limited-time things,” he says. “Like, when the war in Ukraine started, a lot of people online were posting their ‘Fuck Putin’ shots (just layered vodka, blue curaçao, and Galliano, to look like the Ukrainian flag). And social media is almost entirely responsible for why espresso martinis and martinis in general are so popular right now.”
Shockingly, the spirits experts all agree that drink trends are fun, and this one is particularly harmless and uncomplicated, because most bars already have the ingredients needed to make it—and, ultimately, want to sell more drinks. Plus, the audience for it is mostly composed of straight women and gay men in their 20s—so the crème de la crème of New York City nightlife.
“I think some bars will say they don’t like people ordering drinks because of trends, but I love anything that gets people trying something they wouldn’t usually try. The more, the better!” Easton Langer says. “And I love drink memes. Keep the drink memes rolling in all day, every day.”
Closing arguments: TikTok is ruling our lives, and New York is back, baby.
The original Negroni Sbagliato
Ingredients
- 1 part Campari
- 1 part 1757 Vermouth di Torino Rosso
- 1 part Cinzano prosecco
Directions
- Stir the first two ingredients with ice in a glass.
- Top with prosecco.
- Garnish with an orange slice.
Dante’s Golden Sbagliato
Ingredients
- 1 oz. Cinzano Rosso
- 1 oz. Cappelletti
- ¼ oz. Italicus
- Gold powder
- 2 oz. prosecco
Directions
- Build on a small wineglass and top with prosecco.
- Garnish with an orange wedge.
Rosa Sanchez is the senior news editor at Harper's Bazaar, working on news as it relates to entertainment, fashion, and culture. Previously, she was a news editor at ABC News and, prior to that, a managing editor of celebrity news at American Media. She has also written features for Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other outlets.
