The Coincidence a Name Can Bring
Around the year 2000, very few people in Japan had ever heard of a cocktail called NEGRONI. It was the sort of drink whispered about in stylish bars, ordered quietly by regulars who appreciated its presence.
The origin of the name stretches back to 1920s Florence. One evening, Count Camillo Negroni found his usual Americano lacking in strength and asked the bartender to replace the soda with gin. The result was a drink with both depth and strength, one that soon carried the Count’s name and spread around the world.
The founder of our brand, Shuichi Miyabe, who chose that name for this brand was equally captivated by the poise and strength of the cocktail. In a clear glass, gin, vermouth, and Campari intertwined, creating a deep red. It was a drink at once classical and yet quietly radical, mirroring the spirit of the shoes that would carry the Negroni name.
In time, the cocktail would become a fixture on bar menus around the world, not just in Japan. Whether our founder ever foresaw such a future, however, remains unknown.
Crimson Targa
In Belgium, Gerard and his wife, Liliane Rosé, share a deep love of Italy.
Winters are spent skiing in the Dolomites; summers, driving their collection of vintage Porsches beneath the Tuscan sun, and taking part in rallies in distant places. On those journeys, there has always been a glass of their favourite cocktail — the Negroni.They have travelled with their cars all across Europe, through Morocco, and from South India to Sri Lanka, seeking new roads and landscapes. They first tasted a Negroni at a bar by Lake Como. Since then, the drink has carried a special meaning for them both.
For their long-distance rallies, they chose a 1985 Porsche 911 Targa — a car that combined safety with the openness of driving under the sky. Starting from its 3.2-liter engine, they rebuilt it completely, backdating the car to the 1973 S-look. It was an attempt to fuse performance, reliability, and aesthetics into one single form.
The colour matching the Negroni cocktail they selected was Polyantha Red (Ref. 5602), though the couple chose to call it NEGRONI. By chance, the Belgian private license plate “NEGRONI” was still available, and Gerard secured it for life. The name went further still — inscribed on the speedometer, stitched into their jackets — until car and lifestyle became woven into a single story.
On The Road
Over the years, the couple have taken part in classic car rallies across the world. One of them was the Destination Rally Japan Classic, held this past May. Starting in Kobe and ending in Niseko at the northern tip of Hokkaido, it was a 24-day journey across Japan: a vast itinerary revealing culture and landscape mile by mile. For this rally, they drove a rally-prepared light-blue 911.
Destination Rally belongs to FIVA, the International Federation of Historic Vehicles, as well as the Belgian Classic Car Federation. Seasoned mechanics and medical staff accompany the event, routes are scouted in advance, and local contacts carefully arranged. Such preparations run discretely in the background, allowing participants to lose themselves on the road, even on unfamiliar territory.
As the couple’s journey across Japan unfolded, they paused in Kyoto. At the Arashiyama Takao Parkway, the Takao Sunday Meeting was taking place — a gathering in its 160th edition, organized by Mic Shimizu, a familiar figure in Kyoto’s classic car scene. Toyota Celica GTV and Honda S800s recalled the early days of Japanese motoring, while European convertibles added their own presence against the green slopes of the mountains.
Travellers from overseas, passing through on their different rally, mingled briefly with local owners. Japanese enthusiasts lingered over the cars of the Destination Rally, curious and attentive. A gentle moment unfolded between them.
In one corner of the gathering stood our small booth, marked by a simple sign that read NEGRONI. Stopping by the adjoining café tent for a coffee break, Gerard and his wife caught sight of it almost by chance.
Encounter in Arashiyama
“Would you let me have this sign?”
Gerard cried out in surprise, the moment he saw the signboard.At first, we barely understood what he meant. Yet as we listened to his fervent words, it became clear: the NEGRONI resting in his Belgian garage and this modest board in front of us were connected by an invisible cord. What seemed a coincidence felt instead like an inevitability summoned by the name itself.
Moved by the story, we handed the signboard to him. Together with a pair of crimson IDEA CORSA shoes, it was placed carefully into the boot of his 911. After a small adjustment to the battery, the couple set off once more towards their next destination.
Why the name NEGRONI became the name of our brand is not entirely clear.
We were never told the story in detail by our founder. Perhaps it carried a conviction, perhaps it was nothing more than a word jotted down in a notebook after a cocktail, chosen because it sounded right in the moment.
Such words — lightly placed, almost by chance — sometimes draw unexpected connections. Someone takes to them, and perhaps that is just as it should be.
One day, we may visit Belgium again, and raise a glass in front of his 911. That, too, would simply be the natural continuation of the story carried by a name.
Photographs: Gerard Paulussen | Shuhei Miyabe (NEGRONI)
Allan Francis via Unsplash
Text: NEGRONI
Special Thanks
Edited Translation: James Orange
