The Path of the Negroni on Virgin Voyages: Worth Signing Up For?

We do love a taste test, so when a Negroni tasting workshop popped up for $45 a person on our December 2024 Virgin Voyages sailing, we were signed up before you could say rum. Turns out that’s the wrong spirit entirely, but you get the idea.

So What Actually Makes a Negroni a Negroni

This was a really fun couple of hours, and a genuinely useful one too, because it taught us not just what makes a Negroni a Negroni but what flavours we each actually like. It was super interesting seeing how much the base spirit changed the whole drink. Same rough formula, completely different personality depending on what’s doing the heavy lifting.

Here’s the family tree, as we learnt it:

• Americano — a lighter, lower ABV precursor made with Campari and vermouth.
• Classic Negroni — equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari.
• Boulevardier — a richer variation that swaps the gin for bourbon.
• Rosita — a tequila-based twist.
• Mezcal (Oaxacan) Negroni — a smoky spin using mezcal instead of gin.
• Coffee-Infused Negroni — a modern, caffeinated filtration variation.

Let’s be honest, Negronis are basically Aperol Spritzes’ grown-up big brother, so we were always going to love this.

The Tasting Flight, Drink by Drink

First up was a flight of three: light, classic and bourbon, side by side so you could taste the base spirit doing all the work. This is where Alex fell into what’s turned into a multi-year love affair with the bourbon Negroni (the Boulevardier, if you’re being proper about it). I didn’t see it coming and neither did he.

Next came a choice between tequila and mezcal, and since there were two of us we got to try one of each. I went straight for the smokey Mezcal version and would happily have had a second. Alex’s tequila-based Rosita was good, but the smoke on mine won on the night, no contest. Alex disagrees & thinks all smoked drinks taste like ashtrays..

To finish, a Coffee-Infused Negroni, which sounds like it shouldn’t work but it absolutely does. Margaritas, you have competition.. Caffeinated, bitter, and a genuinely different way to end a tasting than “one more of what we’ve already had.”

Somewhere in the middle of all this a charcuterie board turned up, honey, cured meats and cheeses, which did exactly the job it needed to and soaked up some of the six drinks we’d just worked through. I’m pretty sure they explained how they paired & changed the flavours, but don’t expect detailed notes when I’m 5 negronis in, I’m just glad we remembered to get some photos.

The Bit Worth Knowing Before You Book

Five cocktails across a couple of hours is a proper flight, not a polite sip-and-spit tasting, so this isn’t the one to book on your first afternoon if you’ve got dinner reservations and a show lined up straight after. Go in expecting to feel it, and plan the rest of the day around that. Or do what we did, go full raccoon and turn up a bit hungover & 2 mimosas in, how else are you going to spend a day at sea? They give you a cute little booklet to take away with the recipes so you don’t need to take your own notes.

The bigger catch, and the actual reason we’re flagging it rather than just telling you to run and book: we’ve not seen the Path of the Negroni offered on our last two voyages with Virgin. It might be back by the time you’re reading this, it might have been swapped for something else entirely, so don’t hold us to it being there.

We’ve done a few variations on this though & loved every single drinks tasting experience Virgin Voyages has put on since. So take this as your sign: if you see any drinks tasting workshop on your next Virgin sailing, book it. Doesn’t have to be Negronis. It’ll be worth the couple of hours either way.

Five negronis in, still standing, booklet secured.

Final Verdict

Worth it. Two hours, five cocktails, one genuinely useful lesson in what we each actually like to drink, and a bourbon Negroni obsession that’s still going strong. The only real downside is that you might not find this specific workshop on your sailing, but if Virgin’s replaced it with something else, book that instead.

Path of the Negroni FAQs

What is the Path of the Negroni on Virgin Voyages? A Negroni tasting workshop that walks you through the Negroni family, from a light Americano through the classic gin version, a bourbon Boulevardier, a tequila or mezcal twist, and finishing on a coffee-infused version.

Is the Negroni tasting workshop worth booking on Virgin Voyages? Yes, from us. It’s an easy couple of hours, you come away knowing which base spirit you actually prefer, and it comes with a charcuterie board.

Is the Path of the Negroni still available on Virgin Voyages in 2026? We haven’t seen it on our last few sailings, so it may have been rotated out. If you spot any cocktail tasting workshop on your sailing, we’d say book it regardless of the name.

What’s the difference between a Negroni and a Boulevardier? A classic Negroni is equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari. A Boulevardier swaps the gin for bourbon, which makes it richer and warmer. It’s the one that converted Alex.

Do you need to be a cocktail expert to enjoy a tasting workshop like this? Not at all. It’s built to teach you as you go, and honestly the whole point is figuring out what you like rather than knowing it going in.

While you’re checking that list, Lotería Gigante and the art class are the two other paid events we’d book on any sailing, both $35. The excursions are more of a lottery, as our $65 van ride round St Kitts will tell you.

If you fancy your own tasting, see what Virgin have sailing and check the workshop list as soon as you’re on board.

Prices are what we paid in December 2024. Things move, so check before you book.