Alcoholic mixtures

We publish this article by Giovanni Fiorin of Pisacco in Milan, to launch Misture Alcoliche (Alcoholic Mixtures), three special evenings organised on the occasion of Identità Golose by the bistro located in via Solferino: on Wednesday 6th, Thursday 7th and Friday 8th February, there will be a 3-evening-journey in the art of blended drinks, discovering forgotten recipes and ingredients.

As Italians, when we eat, we drink wine. This is possibly one of the main elements which has influenced me, for many years, to stay away from blended drinks, from cocktails or “alcoholic mixtures” (as I found them called in an old book), together with sommelier courses and the firm belief (or misunderstanding) that drinking well is naturally the opposite to drinking cocktails.

Then, almost by chance and following a journey led by curiosity I happen (literally) to cross the wall that divides a featureless fast-food in the Lower East Side of Manhattan and the Pdt, Please Don’t Tell, a name that fully expresses the sense of the trend that developed years ago in the Big Apple, arriving also in Europe, especially in London, the other big capital of bartending. I’m talking of speakeasy bars, born in the United States during the Prohibition, which were forced to hide, to mask themselves behind other shops, in order to sell liqueurs.

But trends are only trends and perhaps this has already gone. Something, however, seems to have stayed: around the world flourish bars and cocktail bars where young barmen study, research and reinterpret great yet forgotten classics that bring us back to the golden age in which cocktails were first born and then developed. The obsessive care to all the aspects of preparation recalls high cuisine, from the ice to the tools (perhaps made in Japan, the new Eldorado of talents). Besides, the recovery of ancient liqueurs, including vermouth, suggests that there’s a movement oriented towards a rediscovered quality of raw materials, which we have witnessed as it pervaded other sectors of the hospitality and restaurant industry.

This could be the ultimate turning point. So here are Death&Co, Employees Only, the glorious Pegu Club or the trendy Flatiron Lounge in New York City or the Connaught (one of the best, with an Italian at the shaker, namely Agostino Perrone) or the Langham, the mythical Savoy (the Corpse Reviver version invented here by Joe Gilmor in 1954 definitely speaks Italian, thanks to the addition of Fernet Branca) but also the Night Jar (this being really difficult to spot, well hidden in a basement, away from the bar area in London). Or the three Constellation in Shanghai and also the el Còctel, which recalls Spain but has a Japanese management, or the Sugar at the Maison Pourcel also Shanghai (guided by another Italian, Guglielmo Miriello). And the nice novelty of Le Coq, in Paris, has high quality in a trés chic garage.

How about Milan? Well no, for the moment this does not apply. Many declare they make the best mojito in town, but is it enough?