Negroni sbagliatos are having a moment because of TikTok. Local bartenders help us explain the trend.

A variation on the classic Negroni is having its cultural moment, becoming a regular order but also a meme — especially among the LGBTQ community. Still, not everyone is ordering it correctly and some bartenders say they’re over the whole thing. Others are enjoying the drink’s resurgence.

Either way, the Negroni sbagliato — a cocktail from the late 60s that swaps out a regular Negroni’s gin for sparkling wine — is here to stay... at least until the next drink trend takes over our TikTok feeds.

Here’s what you need to know about the Negroni sbagliato, how it became a meme, and what local bartenders have to say.

The Negroni sbagliato’s big day came Oct. 1 in a promotional behind-the-scenes interview between Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke promoting HBO’s House of the Dragon series. In the snippet, which HBO posted on TikTok, Cooke asks D’Arcy what their favorite drink is.

D’Arcy responded by saying they enjoy a “Negroni. Sbagliato” and then leaning in to add, “with prosecco in it.” Whether it’s because of the actors’ chemistry, D’arcy’s delivery, or because everyone is just fully over espresso martinis, the 20-second clip took off. It’s been viewed nearly 10 million times.

The audio from D’Arcy’s response has turned into a standalone, viral clip of TikTok audio — an inside joke-style track (see also: “IT’S CORN but it becomes a song and unites world” or “I’m just a baby!”) — that has been used nearly 26,000 times on TikTok.

Google Trends data indicate that between the day before the TikTok was posted through Oct. 10, searches for “Negroni sbagliato” increased by at least 4,900%. The drink is still trending this week, albeit not as much as earlier this month.

Bartenders on TikTok joked that they were bracing themselves for an uptick in orders, encouraging their colleagues to stock up on the drink’s main ingredients: Campari, sweet vermouth, and prosecco.

Anne Louise Marquis, a spokesperson for Campari, told BAZAAR that employees were excited to see the rise in popularity.

When asked if he’d noticed an increase in Negroni sbagliato orders at Martha in Kensington, beverage manager Daniel Miller responded, “Oh, yes I have,” without missing a beat, adding that some customers have told bartenders that they are “not gin drinkers, yet they have been ordering Negronis and sbagliatos” anyway.

“Honestly, I find it hilarious,” Miller said of the trend. “Negroni sbagliatos have been a favorite drink of mine for years, so it does make me happy that there is finally attention on it.”

A classic Negroni is equal parts Campari, sweet vermouth, and gin. A Negroni sbagliato trades out the gin for a sweet sparkling wine, like prosecco.

When D’Arcy explained their drink order to Cooke, they were describing how it was made: A “Negroni sbagliato [which is made] with prosecco.”

But bartenders say that ordering the drink “with prosecco” is redundant.

That’s because “sbagliato” is Italian for “mistaken” or “broken,” referring to the “mistake” that occurred when a bartender accidentally made the drink with sparkling wine instead of vermouth.

“[The sbagliato] was created in 1967 at Bar Basso in Milan when Mirko Stocchetto ‘mistakenly’ used Prosecco in a Negroni instead of gin,” Marquis with Campari told BAZAAR. “But we like to see the mistake as an innovation.”

» READ MORE: Our recipe for the Negroni sbagliato

Miller from Martha says the sbagliato is an easy drink to order — and “not a pain” for bartenders to make.

“If you’re an Aperol spritz lover, you’re gonna love this cocktail,” he said.

As noted by Buzzfeed, D’Arcy’s delivery of their favorite drink order became a meme within the LGBTQ community due to the two actors’ chemistry, D’Arcy’s representation as a nonbinary mainstream actor on a wildly popular show, and the queer community’s “penchant for memes where the repetition and ridiculousness of the thing is kind of the point.”

LGBTQ publication Them went as far as saying that ordering one has become a “queer calling card.”

D’Arcy told the New York Times that they were purposely trying to get a rise out of Cooke during the interviews and wanted to make her laugh. D’Arcy didn’t anticipate it becoming a meme, and said they’re “so embarrassed” by how it took off.

Among the top comments on the original TikTok post are viewers lusting over D’Arcy.

“The way they said ‘with Prosecco in it’ made me melt,” one comment said. “They said Prosecco in the most seductive way possible,” said another.

Inquirer food critic Craig LaBan says readers should have no issues finding Negronis locally, in part because of the city’s rich ties with Italian culture.

“Philly, with its long tradition of Italian restaurants, has always been a strong Negroni town,” he said, adding that his favorite is from Palizzi Social Club in Passyunk Square.

Last month, more than 30 bars in the Philadelphia region participated in the annual Negroni Week celebration.

Any well-stocked bar with apéritifs like Campari should be able to make a Negroni sbagliato, but some spots have leaned into the drink more than others.

Good King Tavern has the classic cocktail on draft, while South Philly’s Fiorella serves a milder, golden variation.

» READ MORE: The best cocktails of the summer | Craig LaBan

Long before this meme existed, Martha and Fishtown’s Middle Child Clubhouse teamed up for a summer dining event serving “Middle Finger Sbagliatos.”

“It was the least ordered cocktail but arguably the staff’s favorite,” Miller said. “If we were to serve that drink now, I’m sure everyone would be ordering it.”

Gran Caffe L’Aquila in Center City lists Negroni sbagliatos on its bar menu for $12.90 featuring Campari, Franciacorta wine, and 1757 Cinzano premium sweet vermouth.

At a.bar in Rittenhouse Square, general manager Harry Jamison said espresso martinis still reign supreme when it comes to off-menu orders. “It’s the espresso martini and then, everything else,” he said. Still, he added, “I wouldn’t be surprised if the drink gets more popular soon.”