I'm landing a new job at a high-end Italian bistro that will feature craft cocktails. I have limited experience with Campari and other Italian bitters. Any suggestions on putting new spins on the "classics" like Negronis and Americanos. Thanks!!!
Heck, I'd be happy to find an Italian Bistro that can simply make a decent Campari & Soda or Negroni! (well, thankfully, I have one close by)
When I think Italian Bistro, having spent all of Sept. traveling Italy, I only think of a few things....they are:
Campari & Soda and Campari Soda are different. ;) One comes pre-bottled the other is made.Aperol Spritz'sNegroni'sBellini's
Nail those classics, and I don't think you'll have to worry much about variation/spins.....Bistro's in Italy sure don't.
You want it to feel like a real Italian Bistro say....at 7pm? Serve a FANTASTIC free buffet of snacks. And by snacks I mean 'good' stuff.You should see what some of the apertivo places serve! And don't get angry when people order 1 drink and sit and snack for an hour bullshitting with friends....that was the best part about Italy, from 7-9 before dinner, sipping a campari and soda, and eating good snacks with cool people.
http://randallpmcmurphy.blogspot.com - I cook a lot and take a rediculous amount of pictures...
Rob, thanks for the input. Free snacks is a great way to get people in the door and allow ourselves so sink our cocktails picks in them, so to say. A laid- back ambience is desired here but the neighborhood is quite a hipster scene. And I'd like to be the only one on the block to offer classic italian selections as well as perhaps something not seen yet. I've been experimenting with unusual ingredients and have had limited success. Successful/ failing ingredients have been pumpkin, lychee, cucumber, lavender, tamarind, and blood oranges with Campari, Galliano, Sambuca, Strega, Gin, and Amaretto. I did learn that Luxardo's Amaretto is quite delicious in comparison to Disaronno's. Thanks again
If it's a hipster scene, all the better for that apertivo feel. I tell ya, if you've never been on the streets of say...Rome or Bologna on a thursday night, at like 7pm...it's pretty surreal. you can't walk a block without 10 places on each side each packed with people drinking campari sodas and eating snacks....
if I could explain it in one word, it would be Hipster. Closest thing to Williamsburg Brooklyn haha only everyone spoke Italian.
here is a post I made when I got back....I have some video I'll have to upload later to give you a 'what a typical Italian apertivo place sounds/looks like at 7pm'
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Just wanted to update this thread....My honeymoon was awesome 23 days in Italy was MUCH better than a stinkin' wedding!
We went mainly based on our love of food, which was awesome, but since this is a cocktail forum, I'll update on that.
All of my pictures can be found here...http://rtimko.smugmug.com/Vacations-and-Trips/Italy-2009
While I didn't have any old-fashioneds, sazeracs, or martini's in Italy, what I did have was many a apertivo. First off, love the concept over there and wish we had it here. Daily cocktails (i should say, a single cocktail as no one appeared to order more than 1 usually, and sipped it very slowly) with friends before dinner, accompanied by a plethora of munchies! Love that concept. And in a place that functions as a cafe in the morning, gelateria in the afternoon and a bar at night!
Mainly drank capari and soda, already in the bottle camparisoda, aperol and soda, negroni, spritz.
had a bellini at Harry's bar
in Venice... I must say, while venice was overall touristy, and I thought this place would be touristy x2, it was, but it wasn't. Still had a great time...arrived at 12noon to see many people gettting turned down for wearing shorts, and we just (dressed in pants) walked right in and had a seat at the 6 man bar!
had some digestivo a lot too.. surprisingly my wife loved it. She's a keeper. Here is a picture of me, raiding the apertivo buffet! Screw bar peanuts...the Italians have it RIGHT with bar snacks!
I don't know the name of any place we really had apertivo's at, but it doesn't matter, as they are on every corner...sometimes 4 at every corner. Stayed at a really nice sustainable farm-to-table place in Tuscany, La Petraia http://www.lapetraia.com/ they made a nice prosecco and blackberry perfume apertivo. also had some farm made mead
stayed at a nice B&B in Positano, If i recommend 1 B&B the whole trip, this is the one. Casa Celeste.
This lady spoke not a LICK of english, but fed (sometimes forcefully!) us homemade lemoncello and lemon creme daily!!
the family owned a bar on the small beach, (ferdanando)
This is Marco who ran the bar with his brother. Just awesome relaxation here. And watching his brother go out fishing, then seeing it on the dinner table that night was fantastic.
Mom (and dad later on, to play cards!) would climb the 350 steps down to the beach daily...(let me tell you, I'm running the NYC marathon in Nov, and even I was winded!) Just something out of a book. Amalfi coast is pretty touristy, but this place made the trip there worth it! True hospitality.
Just a couple ideas... don't know if they'll work for you:
1) It's not a twist on an Italian drink, but a slightly Italian twist on the Manhattan (hence the name) -- The "Little Italy". My girlfriend had one of these at the Tar Pit in LA, and we started making them at home. Basically, a Manhattan but, with Cynar instead of bitters. I use roughly this method.
2) Some interesting Negroni twists which I first encountered in Art of the Bar, are the "Old Pal" and "New Pal" - looks like the first is a classic, and the second is their updated version.
http://underhill-lounge.flannestad.com/2009/05/17/old-pal-cocktail/
http://www.cocktailia.com/cocktail-recipes/new-pal
I can't quite do Campari much myself, but I have made these for friends who like it, and they've been quite happy.
Rob, you take some wicked good photos.
Those are travel magazine worthy.
I second that. Lovely shots.
By the way, how WAS the Bellini at Harry's? I'm curious only because I know it is often hard to find a decent rendition of a drink at it's (alleged) place of origin, (old fashioned at the Pendennis club, Sazeracs in New Orleans). Too much resting on the laurels.
The things I appreciate most at an Italian bar are, in order of importance:
1) fantastic bar snacks
2) A ridiculous variety of Amaro. I would hunt down as much as you can.
Also, Fernet Branca flips are delicious:
one and a half ounce Fernet to 1 ounce Carpano Antica with a few dashes of chocolate bitters and an egg.
Thanks Will. I'm not sure I would have tried Cynar in a Manhattan. I've been tooling around with the Cynar and have gotten frustrated with it. The "little Italy" was quite nice. Thanks for the feedback and enjoy those brandied cherries that were pictured!!!
Pegu serves the little Italy and it's one of my wifes favorite drinks on their menu.
As far as the Bellini at Harrys? Atmosphere. and the bartender was fantastico. I can imagine it being a nightmare though. We had planned to go but ironically, we were just casually walking around and "stumbled" upon it...early in the day, and just walked in and took seats at the 5-6 seat little front bar....it was fairly empty. The bellini itself? We'll it's a proper bellini but nothing groundbreaking, but thats not what ya go for I guess. I did enjoy it though.
With any place in Italy, the more you aren't a typical 'tourist' the better experience you have. There were americans fighting to get in with shorts and flipflops on etc...
Want to really experience Italy? drive to a no name town, find the cafe, and at 7pm, go there and order a campari soda with the other older construction workers, and watch them (and join in on) the fight over the italian 'who wants to be a millionaire' on the little TV in the corner. and try to speak Italian. best experience ever. (damn I gotta get that video up that I snuck..)
To try to give you an understanding of what we mean by fantastic 'snacks'....I mean, a buffet of stuff any american restaurant would charge 20$ pp (ok maybe a little exaggeration) to feast on...
bruschetta, mozzarella tomato salad, olives, assortment of cheeses, salami, prosciutto, stuffed peppers, sundried tomatoes, focaccia, pizza, chips, nuts, etc. etc.
actually, no..I'm not really exaggerating...the Italian restaurant I go to has THE best cocktail bar in NJ, however with the exception of Friday nights, they charge 16$ to pick only 3 of the above.
Rob Timko: This lady spoke not a LICK of english, but fed (sometimes forcefully!) us homemade lemoncello and lemon creme daily!!
Rob, what is the difference between linoncello and lemon creme?
I am assuming the lemon creme is twice as sweet and thicker viscosity?
Were they both served cold?
Yup you got it, and one has crema (milk I believe) and one doesn't. both served ICE ICE cold. Always.
The last bar i worked in was also an 'Italian' style restaurant. The consultant used a lot of interesting flavours.
We did an Italian Mary where we used chillis, herbs, spices, vermouth in a 'Marymix' that would infuse for two weeks. I don't want to give away too much otherwise he might get grumpy.
But i also did my own version using marsala, balsamic vinegar and i would spray some olive oil one the top of the drink for aroma.
Marsala is also an ingredient i have never really utilised as much as i would have liked. A Fandango perhaps?
If you can get hold of Izzaro... I'm sure you can do some pretty awesome stuff
im in the process of uploading more video this was the most 'typical' aperitivo place in italy...just on a street/square in rome the little places that serve as a cafe in the morning, a geleteria/pizzaria in the afternoon and an aperitivo place at night.The snacks at this place weren't great but you can see they just bring them out...and total bill for 2 drinks was something like 10 euro.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTiAm2Dyj7I
i have a few more vids Ill upload later.
-Rob
here was our more 'local' aperitivo experience :)
and one from Venice. Notice NO papercups, how awesome is THAT.