The Negroni Social is an annual costume gala for industry professionals and is the inspiration for Negroni Week. We're proud to be the roots behind this now internationally successful fundraising initiative presented by Imbibe Magazine and Campari®.
2017 broke a record for the fifth year in a row for Negroni Week, raising $537,000 for a range of charities around the world and bringing total donations to almost $1.5 million over the lifetime of the program. The 7th Negroni Social at Buckman Public House broke records itself. After a stiff competition of 58 cocktail submissions, we picked 12 winning bartenders to serve their variations as the featured cocktails for the night. At the "2017: A Future Odyssey" themed party, we hosted over 500 people and collectively served 1600 Negroni! Our charitable donation to Outside In will help provide health and wellness to homeless teens and marginalized youth in the Portland area.
For the third year, we worked with Beckham Estate (Sherwood, OR) to age more than 300 Negronis for the party’s welcome cocktail in amphorae, hand-made clay vessels crafted by Andrew Beckham at the vineyard. Douglas will be creating a classic negroni of Campari, Bulldog Gin and Cinzano 1757 sweet vermouth And, for the most exciting part - after the amphorae are filled with the cocktail, the vessel is buried underground to age for two months. When guests arrived at the Negroni Social, they were greeted by a bartender nestled between large amphorae and handed one of the aged subterranean cocktails.
The event benefited Outside In for the 7th year, a Portland non-profit organization that provides medical and mental health services and resources to homeless youth. To date, we have donated $15,000 to the cause, and we hope 2018 will be the best year yet.
The invite-only gala is free to attend, with guests buying Negroni ($10) as a way of raising funds for the cause. A recipe book featuring the 12 selected cocktails is also available for purchase ($10).
Location: Buckman Public House
Date: June 4, 2017
Attendance: 15
Type: invite-only fundraiser and costume gala for industry professionals
Scope of work: girl friday, event producer, logistics guru, cat wrangler, and all the other stuff that Douglas Derrick, the founder and co-producer, doesn't do. :)