Name: Nogroni
Prep time: 1 min
Cook time: 1 min
Total time: 2 min
Ingredients: 1 oz Damrak Virgin; 1 oz FLUÈRE Bitter; .75 oz Vermouth Rosso; Garnish: Orange peel

Our Dry January advocate shares a NA version of the wildly popular aperitivo that will make you say "Yes" to a Nogroni.

Italian-Inspired NA Cocktail #5: Nogroni

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Michele Sessa is an Italian American home chef raised in upstate NY with a flair for creating new recipes. When she was young, her great grandmother would watch her while her parents worked. She only spoke Italian, and they communicated through the magic of cooking. The duo would bake, garden and even take care of the chickens, which developed Michele’s passion for making people happy through her food. All the women in her family fostered the importance of family, faith and healthy food.
Working in the apparel business for over 25 years in NYC and traveling the world for developing fashion lines, her love of different cuisines grew. Of course, Italian food is near and dear to her heart, but she now develops Greek, Asian, Latin and Mexican recipes for her family and for parties.
Now living in Florida with her husband and extended family, she even teaches her friends her innovative takes on Italian classic dishes. Everyone wants and invitation to her Italian Sunday feasts she makes for 8-14 family members, and everyone gets to pick their favorite dinner for their birthday celebration. Her Mother Louise has finally left NY and is living nearby, and they love cooking and baking together, especially for the traditional holiday meals. She learned everything about being a gracious hostess from her mom, and they even catered a large wedding for 65 guests in their backyard when her cousins came to America from Italy to get married!
Michele’s love for her heritage and family continues to drive her knack for entertaining, decorating and cooking. Instagram is another place where she shares her recipes, and she has a great following for her handle <a href="https://www.instagram.com/michele7533/">@michele7533</a>. Make sure to stop by her page for inspiration and her authentic stories through her eyes and her food! Casa Michele’s kitchen is a special place that you can visit through her page!

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She developed her career in gastronomy, gastrophotography, and luxury hospitality, with professional experience spanning Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Andalucía and Hungary. Her favourite topics to cover: blue food, seafood, Sardinian cuisine, wine from Veneto region in Italy, sustainable cuisine and honorouring women in gastronomy. Follow Anita <a href="https://www.instagram.com/anita.jozsef/">@</a>anita.jozsef.
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Her family continues to grow, and that makes her happy because there are more people to feed and love. What&#8217;s better than that?
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Mandi loves to be a guest of events, signing books and donating a portion of her net proceeds to local charities. Her second cookbook, Mangia Y&#8217;all &#8211; Make Everyday Delicious, was released in July 2025.
Please follow her on her website <a href="http://www.lowcountrybella.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.lowcountrybella.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1705416623316000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2qLX1Ag56lHqdrjNXYhkQG">www.lowcountrybella.com </a>or on social media: @lowcountrybella on both Instagram and Facebook.
Mangia Y’all!

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I am the idea behind and the co-founder of Mama Mancini’s. I am also a home cook, an obsessed entrepreneur, traveler, foodie, and I love sharing all of it with anyone who wants to listen. I believe passion fuels ideas and there is no such thing as a bad idea or too much passion. I look at the picture of my grandmother, Anna Mancini, holding me as a baby and think wow if my grandmother only knew that all those countless days of me learning how to cook by her side in Brooklyn would turn into this. After 25 years in the garment industry, I decided in 2007 it was time for a change. My idea: real meatballs made the authentic Italian way and sold in real sauce. To me there was no other way they should be offered, that was my big idea and Mama Mancini’s was born. The rest is history. So, I say this to everyone who has an idea: never give up; don’t listen to the people who say it won’t work. No idea is a bad idea and always chase your dreams. Let’s cook.

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<a href="https://jenniferbajsel.com/">JenniferBajsel.com</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jennifer_bajsel/">Instagram: @jennifer_bajsel</a>

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As a travel writer, she is a regular contributor to Excellence Magazine (Lugano) and has been published in Condé Nast Traveler USA and UK, the Sunday Times travel magazine, La Cucina Italiana, edited the Cadogan guide, and is a local expert for Condé Nast Johansens.
She produced two Nardini Grappa handbooks, collecting recipes from bartenders worldwide. Her latest project is Spirits of Adventure, documenting spirits in liquid and soulful forms in her sailboat that has covered over 3000 miles from Italy to the Canaries and is planned to continue in fall 2026 to the Caribbean.

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/hilarywritesny/?hl=en" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.instagram.com/hilarywritesny/?hl%3Den&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1704223499783000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1ydXi8uzvxO1L0CIg-q18x">Hilary Sheinbaum</a> is a journalist and the author of <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-dry-challenge-hilary-sheinbaum?variant=32126637965346" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-dry-challenge-hilary-sheinbaum?variant%3D32126637965346&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1704223499783000&amp;usg=AOvVaw02NQ2NJ7m30IERyX-kN7Ib">The Dry Challenge: How to Lose the Booze for Dry January, Sober October, and Any Other Alcohol-Free Month (HarperCollins)</a>, a judgment-free guide to giving up alcohol for a month-long period.
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The University of Florida graduate started her journalism career as a red carpet reporter, interviewing actors, recording artists and reality stars. Hilary has contributed to 60+ publications since, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, USA TODAY, New York Magazine, EATER, The Huffington Post, Us Weekly, Marie Claire, and ELLE.com.

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<div class="py-[3px] whitespace-pre-wrap u-break-words">Mario Traina is a Sicilian chef, gastronome, and educator based in Catania. A graduate and ambassador of the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo (founded by Slow Food&#8217;s Carlo Petrini), he is the founder of the Comunità Educativa Gastronomica Etnea, Sicily&#8217;s first educational gastronomic community. He works as a private chef across the island, cooking for travelers with a zero-waste philosophy rooted in local ingredients and Sicilian tradition.</div>
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<div class="my-[1px]">
<div class="py-[3px] whitespace-pre-wrap u-break-words">Website: <a title="https://chefmariotraina.com" href="https://chefmariotraina.com/">chefmariotraina.com</a> | Instagram: @chefmariotraina</div>
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Chef Mario Traina

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Italian-Inspired NA Cocktail #5: Nogroni

Nogroni

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