Article on Mixology Magazin fur Barkultur – Germany
IT: Un grande ringraziamento ad Helmut Adam per aver inluso la ricetta sull’edizione N. 2 / 2009 – Aprile / Maggio della rivista
La versione italiana della ricetta si trova QUI
ENG: A big thank you to Mr Helmut Adam for including the recipe on the Magazine.
Recipe released on Mixology Magazin
Issue 2 / 2009 – April / May
The english version of the recipe is HERE
Drinks sipping and spirits chattin’ – an encounter with Ireland’s Diageo Brand Ambassador Martin Duffy
I was up in Belfast at The Merchant Hotel in January to conduct some vodka trainings for Diageo’s World Class Cocktail Competition and just to see the city itself. What a great looking town!
Anyway, I got into a conversation with Hayden Lambert, the award winning bartender at The Merchant and mentioned that I was planning a visit to Rome at the end of February. I had never been before and was quite looking forward to it. He automatically recommeded that I drop in on a gentleman that he had met on Facebook.
His name was Max La Rocca and he was supposed to be quite the man with the cocktails. He worked at the Hotel St. George on the Via Guilia, just across the river from The Vatican. I thought, why not?
I had made contact with Max on Facebook and he was ever so gracious about having me stop in.
I arrived in Rome on a Friday, armed with only my vast lack of the Italian language and absolutely no idea where I was in the city. After no time at all, I set off to visit The Hotel St. George and a guy named “Max”. The sun was out but the air was just a bit nippy, and myself with the lingering affects of a cold.
When I arrived at the hotel, the outside was a nice stone doorway, but very unassuming. Once you walked in though, you knew that you were in a hotel that I couldn’t possibly afford to stay in. As I rounded the corner to the bar area, the man himself came up to greet me.
Massimo (the same name, as he was to point out to me later, as the Russel Crowe character in the film “Gladiator”) “Max” La Rocca had a smile on his face and appeared much younger than what I expected. He brought me over to his bar and proceeded to make me feel right at home.
We started to discuss my trip so far, which at that point only consisted of a long cab ride, my surprise at the rather spooky hotel that I had booked myself into about a 1 1/2 miles away and a rather nice, inexpensive Italian dinner that I enjoyed around the corner from the “spooky hotel”. Then we got down to the matters at hand…drinks & drinking!
Max started me off with the cocktail that he was listing on his blog, the Tommy’s Camomile No. 10, made with Diageo’s Tanqueray No. Ten gin, agave syrup and fresh lime juice with a creamy camomile foam (with a touch of vanilla), a sprinkle of camomile on top and a side of his own lime jelly. The presentation was great, but it was nothing compared to how that cocktail tasted! I was blown away.
Another great experience was his Smoking Daiquiri, where before making the cocktail, he lit a chuck of a cigar and put it under the serving glass. When ready, he turns the glass rightside up and pours in the cocktail. What a trip! It was as it I was smoking and drinking at the very same time! I was still tasting this cocktail later the next afternoon.
I did recommend, however, that he consider using other flavours of smoke, possibly frankensence, considering he was working in the shadows of The Vatican, it only seemed appropriate. Perhaps it was just the Catholic tourist in me.
Over the next few evenings, Max would serve up his variations on some classic cocktails, such as the Manhattan & Negroni.
On my second night in Rome, after visiting the aforementioned Vatican, I bee-lined it over to The St. George to see what else Max had up his sleeve. He showed me all of these experiments that he had been working on: his clear ice that he painstakingly creates and nurtures for just the right look and his array of garnishes & spices that he keeps on hand. This lead us talking about infusions. I had mentioned how I had been infusing rich, chocolate coffee beens into Black Bush, which usually has a bit of a milk chocolate character in the finish. I had figured that since we already put Irish whiskey into coffe, why not put coffee into Irish whiskey.
This is where Max took things to the next level. You could see his mind racing at speeds I couldn’t keep up with, even if I tried. He gathers up some ingredients and tools, pours Black Bush into a brandy snifter and then lights it on fire. A dash of cinnamon, some coffee and star anise et voilà, a coffee-less Irish coffee!
To top off my stay in Rome, Max was kind enough to postpone his usual trip home on that Sunday and meet up for lunch at a wonderful Italian restaurant (I know, is there any other kind in Rome?). For an American, you always want to experince certain things in different countries: drinking scotch in Scotland, drinking Guinness in Dublin and eating Italian food in Rome. Some how you just feel like you have done it all once you accomplished these things.
Anyway, Max also took my around to some of the other spots around town where the small, but proud group of mixologists work their craft.
We stopped into the Grand Hotel de La Minerve, a sister hotel of the St. George, where Roberta, who was just ending her shift, was telling us how she & her husband are about to open up their own bar. Her replacement for the next shift was named Roberto! What are the chances of that? He presided over a very nice ornate bar with a good number of spirits.
Then, it was off to a bar that Max once worked at called the Hotel de Russie. There we met his friend, another Max, Massimo D’Addezio, a man full of great vigor. When I say Massimo free pours…I mean he free pours! We actually spent some time at this bar and chatted to Massimo and his staff. All of which had passion & pride in their work and for the art of bartending.
We went to one more bar at the Excelsior Hotel. Once again, a warm greeting from Max’s friends Luca di Francia behind the bar and another very nice cocktail.
Thinking back on my experince in Rome, I am struck by just how professional the bartenders are without losing their personalities & warmth.
Max, I think, is the epitome of this.
He puts so much imagination, creativity, personality and hard work into what he does and what he creates, the man needs a much bigger stage than what he has now. After watching Max work, I thought I was witnessing a man who had been behind the bar for 20 years or more, honing his craft and providing a level of serve not often seen these days.
When he informed me that he had been bartending for only 3 years, I nearly fell off my stool. He had done more in his 3 years than I had in my 12 years bartending back in Chicago, yet he is one of the most humble and giving people I have ever met. He should be the inspiration to any person looking to get into the service industry and the field of mixology.
To the Gladiator of Mixologists, I salute you!
Cheers
Martin C. Duffy
Diageo Reserve Brand Ambassador
Valentine’s Day @ St George Hotel
IT: aperitivo creato per la cena di San Valentino.
– Champagne Perrier Jouet Grand Brut
– Triple sec Joseph Cartron
– Angostura
– Orange Bitter
– Spuma di Rose
– Fiori edibili
ENG: pre dinner drink created for Valentine’s Day dinner.
– Perrier Jouet Grand Brut Champagne
– Joseph Cartron Triple sec
– Angostura Bitters
– Orange Bitters
– Rose Foam
– Edible flowers
Tommy’s Camomile n. 10
IT: Un nuovo drink “d’autore” creato abbinando gli ingredienti con alcuni degli elementi chiave del Tanqueray n. 10 come la camomilla e il lime.
– Tanqueray n. 10 Gin
– Sciroppo di Agave
– Succo di lime fresco
– Spuma di Camomilla
– Gelatina di lime
ENG: A new signature cocktails created pairing the ingredients with some of the key elements that compose Tanqueray n. 10 itself such as camomile and limes.
– Tanqueray n. 10 Gin
– Agave Syrup
– Fresh lime juice
– Camomile Foam
– Lime Jelly
The Bijou Cocktail and..the Flying Teapot
ENG: Video based on Boadas’ “Throwing” technique or “Cuban Roll”..with a twist
The throwing technique was popularised by the classic Barcelona Cocteleria BOADAS opened by Miguel Boadas in 1933 (after working at the Floridita in Havana) where his daughter Maria Dolores and her Bartenders still perform it today.
The technique (by using 2 boston glasses and a strainer) delivers both the aeration benefits of shaking and the little dilution of stirring, perfect for spirit-based drinks such as Martinis and Manhattans.
..maybe this could be how it originated?..who knows.
..More on the Tuareg Tea Ceremony
The Bijou Cocktail was invented in the late 1800s by Master Bartender Harry Johnson
3 cl Gin
3 cl Green Chartreuse
3 cl Sweet Vermouth
drops of Orange Bitter
Lemon peel
Cherry
(source: Museum of the American Cocktail)
—————————-
IT: Video basato sulla spettacolare tecnica chiamata “Throwing” o “Cuban Roll”..ma con una piccola modifica
Tale tecnica fu resa celebre dalla Cocteleria classica BOADAS a Barcellona aperta da Miguel Boadas nel 1933 (dopo aver lavorato al Floridita dell’Havana) dove ancora oggi sua figlia Maria Dolores e i suoi Barmen la utilizzano.
La tecnica (attraverso l’utilizzo di due mixing glass e uno strainer) unisce i benefici dell’ossigenazione che si ottiene shakerando, con la minima diluizione dello stirring, perfetta per drinks a base di distillati e liquori come i Martinis e i Manhattans.
..forse questa potrebbe essere la sua possibile origine?..chi lo sa
Molto complesso il rituale del tè dei Tuareg, gli uomini blu del Sahara: secondo tradizione vengono consumati tre tè alla menta diversi, uno di seguito all’altro. Si passa dal primo tè, forte e amaro (come la morte), servito alzando la teiera, così che si formi un po’ di schiuma nella tazza, al secondo tè per il quale viene aggiunta altra acqua bollente nella teiera e altre foglie di menta per un risultato più dolce (la vita), per finire con un tè molto più zuccherato e leggero (l’amore). Questa complessa cerimonia richiede circa 2-3 ore.
( fonte: Teaway )
Il Bijou Cocktail fu inventato intorno al 1800 dal Barman Harry Johnson
3 cl Gin
3 cl Chartreuse Verde
3 cl Vermouth Rosso
gocce di Orange Bitter
Peel di limone
Ciliegina
(fonte: Museum of the American Cocktail)
..Sugar on your Negroni ??
IT: ..Un veloce “finger drink” fatto al volo con una gelatina di Negroni e arancia caramellata..per il vostro aperitivo.
ENG: ..Just a fast “finger drink” made on the spot with a Negroni Jelly and caramelized orange..for you to enjoy.
Scott Beattie’s “Artisanal Cocktails” Book
IT: I drinks di Beattie hanno l’approccio del “chilometro zero”: quelli che prepara al bar del Cyrus in gran parte vedono l’utilizzo di ingredienti provenienti dai giardini e alberi di agrumi dei “vicini di casa”. Tali ricette sono incluse nel libro. Ma che cosa si fa se non si vive in California e non si ha accesso a tali prodotti? Ecco quando la sua tecnica e suggerimenti si rivelano utili. Beattie da istruzioni su come effettuare sciroppi speziati, bucce di agrumi candite, spume, crustas, frutta e verdura in salamoia. Non troverete queste ricette in altri libri di cocktails. I consigli su questo libro serviranno ad aiutare a sviluppare drinks con prodotti di provenienza prettamente locale.
ENG: Beattie’s drinks take the hyper-local approach: The ones he makes at the bar at Cyrus largely come from ingredients sourced from neighbors’ gardens and citrus trees. Those recipes are included in the book. But what if you don’t live in California? That’s when the technique tips come in handy. Beattie gives instruction on how to make spiced syrups, candied citrus peels, foams, rims, and pickled fruits and vegetables. You won’t find those in other cocktail books. Not only does this book with its recipes instruct people to make the ultimate West Coast cocktails, its advice will help people around the country develop hyper-local drinks with different local produce sourced wherever they are.
