Experienced bartenders from the Amalfi Coast have creatively shaken and mixed the lightness of the summer season into a drink.
By Editors
Summer told in a drink. Three bartenders express their creativity and skill in different cocktails that convey the lightness and friendliness of this warm season. From aperitifs to after-dinner drinks, here’s how to lower temperatures with gusto.
Gimme 5, cocktail by Michelangelo Del Pezzo, San Pietro Positano head bartender
An elegant and km zero long drink created by Michelangelo Del Pezzo, head bartender at Hotel Il San Pietro Positano, it has a dry and refreshing taste, ideal for this hot summer. Perfect as a pre-dinner aperitif, Gimme 5 is made with gin flavored with verbena from the hotel’s gardens and enriched with centriole and cordial lime, strictly from the house. It is served in a tall tumbler with a straightforward presentation: ice and a slice of cucumber in a spiral shape.
Summertime Ravello, cocktail by Tommaso Mansi, Caruso a Belmond Hotel bar manager
Fresh and fruity is the cocktail made by Tommaso Mansi, bar manager at the Caruso a Belmond Hotel in Ravello. A drink that has as its base the prince fruit of summer, watermelon, reinforced by a good dose of vodka and completed with an LVMH Chandon garden spritz. The recipe calls for a watermelon centrifuge mixed with a neutral vodka and peach liqueur, adding yellow chartreuse, whipped strawberries, and a top of Chandon garden spritz.
Arcobaleno Bristol, cocktail by Giuseppe Racchino, Hotel Bristol di Vietri sul Bar bartender
Inspired by the flavors and colors of the Amalfi Coast, the summer cocktail created by Giuseppe Rocchino, bartender at Hotel Bristol in Vietri Sul Mare, is a riot of energizing hues. Simple and tasty, it has grenadine syrup, orange juice, and blue curaçao, which are combined with gin and lemon juice.
Sandia Gazpacho, a cocktail by Andrea Ferrigno, bartender and owner of Matinée Cocktail Bar & Restaurant in Maiori
“A refreshing, brightly colored drink with aromatic hints capable of recalling summer,” is how Andrea Ferrigno, bartender, and owner of the Matinée Cocktail Bar & Restaurant in Maiori, describes his cocktail. “I was inspired by the Andalusian gazpacho recipe, mixing the lashings of tomato with the sweet taste of watermelon,” he says. A perfect combination combining Tanqueray Gin with barolo chinato, campari, lemon, tomato gazpacho and watermelon extract.
King of fall and winter dishes, the Amalfi Coast landscape offers several species of mushrooms, which are parts of many recipes by local chefs.
Creativity, courage, and attachment to one’s land are the new local cuisine’s main ingredients.
During the autumnal festival, the “marroni scalesi” (Scala’s type of chestnuts) are the main event