People are obsessed with Italian drinks, yet they may not be aware of that,” Paul Feinstein, a Los Angeles-based writer and foodie, and Fine Dining Lovers contributor Paul Feinstein. “Italy is the world’s cocktail ingredient engine. Vermouth isn’t available without Italy as well. And without it, you don’t have Manhattans, martinis, Negronis, hanky pinky boulevardiers, and hundreds of drinks.”
Suppose your passion for Italian cocktails has been brought to this site. In that case, you’ll be enthralled by Feinstein’s debut book, a comprehensive investigation of Italian cocktails at home in Italy and worldwide, influenced by the author’s “life-long love affair” with Italy. Italy Cocktails A Beautiful Collection of over 100 Recipes influenced by Italia from HarperCollins under the imprint Cider Mill Press will be released on the 31st of October.
“The most interesting aspect of Italy’s rich tradition of mixing ingredients for cocktails was that these ingredients were widely used in areas such as New York and London for their bar scene well before Italy took them on for cocktails at home. This peculiarity has a lot due to the region of Italy as well as many other traditions which can be traced back to Ancient Rome to about 2010 at which point the Italian classic cocktail culture began to catch up to all of sophisticated drinkers of the world, and perhaps even surpass it in many cases,” says Feinstein in the book.
With more than 100 recipes sourced from iconic Italian drinking and culinary culture like Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura, Harry’s Bar, and Franco’s Bar Positano, Each Italian drinker will discover something that can inspire them amidst the usual Negroni, spritz, or Bellini. The book “traces the history of Italian cocktails, profiles the best Italian cocktail bars in the world,” and promises to show you how to create your bar in your home.
For a teaser, Here are two delicious recipes from the cookbook to help the way through the Italian cocktail season.
‘Grand Tour’, Hotel de la Ville, Rome
Ingredients
1 1/2 oz./45ml Stoli Elite Vodka
1/2 oz/15ml lemon juice
1/2 oz/15ml liquor alloro (bay leaf liqueur)
1/2 oz/15ml sugar syrup
1/2 oz./15ml Yzaguirre Blanco Vermouth
Method
1. Mix all the ingredients in shakers with ice, then shake vigorously.
2. Double-strain into a chilled Mancino Alto glass.
3. Sprinkle with Roman mint.
‘Negroni Fleur de Lys,’ Caffe Gilli, Florence (top)
Ingredients
2/3 oz/20ml Panarea Island Gin
1/2 oz/15ml Amaro Santoni
2/3 oz /20ml Baldoria Bianco Vermouth
1/3 1 oz/10ml star anise syrup*
2/3 oz/20ml clear apple juice
Method
1. Fill a glass that was filled with ice.
2. Mix all the ingredients and mix.
3. Serve with lemon slices of green apple or edible blooms.
* Smash 13.1/2 oz./383g star anise using the aid of a pestle and mortar. Mix the star anise you’ve crushed in a large pan with 2 liters of water. Allow the ingredients to come to a simmer. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. Let the mixture cool before straining it through a fine mesh strainer. Mix 600g white sugar in granules and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.