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And as it turns out, that moment was very much historic. Because when Count Negroni added gin to his Campari and vermouth, one of the world’s great cocktails was born. Long a favourite of old-guy drinkers, this combination has come back into vogue in recent years.

That long-ago scene is on my mind as I mix the first Negroni since my arrival in Italy. I’m here for a weeklong trip to chase and trace my preferred cocktail across the Italian Peninsula, starting in Venice.

“It didn’t take long for the count’s cocktail to become a worldwide sensation,” says mixologist Francesco Adragna as he brings me behind the Il Piccolo bar at . Once three separate, worn-down three-star properties, this place was purchased by an Italian family. Renovated, decorated with local art and handicrafts, it’s just reopened as a luxe boutique hotel.

Adragna has won cocktail competitions with his gin concoctions, and claims the Americano (vermouth and Campari) as his own favourite drink. First, we stir up a classic Negroni, the bartender telling me he always adds an extra splash of vermouth. The three ingredients go into a large mixing glass with ice, and he directs me to stir with a long-handled spoon. I’m a little harsh with it at first, but he shows me a smoother flow. “Better, better,” he says, approvingly.

We pour the cocktail into a hand-blown Murano glass, adding the signature twist of orange (although Adragna says lemon is also acceptable). On first sip, it has all the elements, the surprising earthiness offset by the freshness of the citrus. Anthony Bourdain once called the Negroni “the perfect drink.” He wasn’t wrong.

Then Adragna brings out the ingredients for an all-Venetian version. The standout is Gin Venice, which uses local aromatics — black pepper, cardamom — plus juniper from the nearby Dolomites. “They say it has a power, like absinthe,” he says, pouring another. As I take my first sip, I feel that energy surging, just a little.

Hopping on a train to Florence, I head straight to Caffè Giacosa. The bloodlines of classic cocktails can become easily confused, with the opening and closing of bars. But most agree this is the inheritor of Caffè Casoni, the birthplace of the Negroni.

Casoni was a place where poets, artists and journalists would gather to compare notes. Its current incarnation, as Giacosa, feels more glamorous, like a speakeasy. But the Negroni is front and centre. A server brings out little cookies made with ingredients from the cocktail. They’re ooey-gooey and just a bit boozy.

Bartender Gabriele Manfredi tells me people come here from all over the world. While they serve 10 variations on the Negroni, the original version remains the favourite. “The classic, we keep it simple,” he says, pouring me one. It’s just about perfect.

And in Italy, yes, all roads lead to Rome. So that’s where I head, to finish my journey. I stay at , a well-situated hotel that’s far too cool for me.

There, three bartenders in Punch Room, which has its own speakeasy feel, prepare their versions of this classic. The one that stands out comes from a young Brazilian bartender. She’s been in the business for only a matter of months, but gives her own South American take on a time-honoured tradition, the rabo de galo. Same idea, (mostly) different ingredients: vermouth, Cynar and cachaça. “This is the most famous Negroni in Brazil,” she says, serving it up.

It’s light and bright. Not quite the same thing but close. And it’s a nice reminder of the international impact — all the intoxicating reverberations — when a guy in Florence took a risk and asked for a little gin in his cocktail.

Accommodation was provided to Tim Johnson by Hotel Violino d’Oro and the Rome Edition, which did not review or approve this article.