Restaurants: the mixologist is the new sommelier

2023 Author: Cody Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 11:20

It has been a few years ago, exactly since i bartenders imperial must be called mixologist, which is witnessing the progressive gourmetization of cocktail.

Today the restaurant of some pretense has its own cocktail menu and hiring a mixologist instead of a sommelier is considered normal: for references, ask the emperor of French cuisine, chef Alain Ducasse.

If the new Gin gurus of every make and origin, starched up mustache and vintage hipster straps (see Flavio Angiolillo, host of Mixologist on DMax) handle concoctions and spices like little chemists and evolve with increasingly philosophical-chic recipes, the chef, even starred, has realized that the classic glass of wine is no longer enough to attract a new generation of spirits swindlers who no longer distinguish between aperitif, happy hour, dinner or evening.

So, we decided to better understand this cocktail trend that accompanies restaurants, and who better than the experts on the subject?

GUGLIELMO MIRIELLO (Dry, Milan)

Dry is a pizzeria, but also a cocktail bar: Guglielmo Miriello is the bartender.

"Our drinks are not really designed for pairing with pizza, even if the customer also has the cocktail list at the time of ordering.

The counter and the wood-burning oven coexist peacefully, but have two distinct souls.

However, there is a meeting point: at Dry we offer our cocktails with mini focaccias already cut into wedges and stuffed according to the customer's choice and the drink ordered.

There are also pre-steamed and then baked focaccia cubes that go perfectly with the creations of the bar.

Between vintage recipes, new classics and cocktails of our own creation, we are able to welcome customers who have already eaten pizza, those who patiently wait their turn, and even those who come just for a glass."

PATRIZIO BOSCHETTO (formerly All’Oro, Rome)

Until recently, he mixed in the starry Roman All’Oro, then he moved to London and now he has a new mixology project in Rome.

"The haute cuisine combined with the mixing of research is liked, like more and more. I have collaborated with starred chefs and I will also do so in my new project: it is very stimulating for me, because there is a mutual exchange of know-how between the kitchen and the counter.

Anything that can be eaten can also be transformed into an ingredient to be drunk. This is why a true mixologist needs cooking knowledge, since he is constantly working in the transformation of food and more.

An example? I've even made cocktails using lettuce, and certainly the cure that goes into a starred dish is the same as that behind an artfully crafted cocktail.

The plate and the glass must find an absolute balance, so that one does not cover or override the other, and this is also true in terms of color. Today, however, many improvise in this profession. They should be reminded that it takes a lot of experience to do a job that is really well done."

ALESSANDRO AVILLA (Sushi B, Milan)

Mixing professional, today dealing with a Japanese restaurant not quite as you would expect, but even a little better I would say.

"With us, aperitif time is when food and drink meet on the palate of customers. Each cocktail is accompanied by dishes that the chef prepares specially, in his light, fresh and natural style.

At the counter I try to propose the same philosophy of the kitchen, with Asian elements that blend perfectly with the proposed food. The Asian spirits that are not yet too well known in Italy, for example, form the basis of some of our advanced blending drinks, together with oriental ingredients such as yuzu, shiso and ginger.

Even in classic cocktails there is always a "foreign" element that winks to the East. The only exception is the classic Negroni, served following the original recipe, but using a single sphere of ice, as Japanese mixologists use, so that the ice melts more slowly."