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APR. MAY 2016
XV
American distillates, cachaça and
mescal, some year ago. I, as a good
Trentino, use brandy in my original
creations, I think even the world
of cocktails we should nurture the
concepts like localism, taking cues
from different suggestions but that
resonate with the local culture and
creating a personal style that is
not the result improvisation of the
moment, but a careful study of the
ingredients and combinations, even
with the food.”
FOOD PAIRING.
It is one of the
last frontiers: the combination of
cocktails and dishes, the common
suggestion and contamination of
these two worlds, increasingly
converging, is dragging, even in
Italy, the interest in the mixed drink.
“Until a few years ago - continues
Libardi - seemed a heresy, now we
are faced with an endless wealth of
ingredients that can end up in the
glass. I collaborate with a young
chef to develop suitable cocktail to
be consumed by eating, we have
created a recipe that involves the
use of burnt onion crumbs (see
box, editor’s note), certainly an
unconventional ingredient. But,
symmetrically, also the chef’s work is
being enriched with techniques and
their combinations the barman, in a
path that grows both.”
NO IMPROVISATION.
Certainly
a major boost to the changing
approach to cocktails from our
compatriots came by the social
evolution, which led the younger
generation to live differently night
and fun, all mediated by digital
technology. So, if the old adage
drink less, drink better is still very
timely, especially for the restrictions
imposed by the rules of the road,
people are looking for something
special to dress their evening. “The
cocktail - explains Libardi - must be
stunning from a visual point of view,
the image, but the good barman
should not stop at this. Indeed, the
pleasure on the palate is critical. The
good bartender must know how to
adjust the proposals based on the
alleged tastes or explained by the
client and must season with a strong
dose of storytelling, describing the
ingredients, why the choice and
seasoning it all with tips on tasting.
It is something that is often not easy,
especially when you work quickly,
but it is a necessary to make enhance
the culture of who is on the other
side of the counter”.
Two recipes
EVERY SINGLE DAY
4 cl Z44 Dry Gin
1.5 cl Distilllato Williams pear Roner
1.5 cl Cardamon syrup
1.5 cl lime
Top ginger beer
KONKA & KIBUDDHA
3.5 cl Gewurztraminer Roner
3 cl dry vermouth
1.5 cl sugar syrup salty
1.5 cl lime
crustas of burnt onion
AT PAGE 46
Champagne,
a constant
phenomenon
That’s a wine that does not need any
introduction, symbol of luxury and joy
of life, able to bring prestige to any
wine list.
by Pietro Cinti