The bartender of Roman origins transfers the taste of seasonal ingredients and the great classics of our local culinary tradition into his creations. To toast truly out of the ordinary
A toast with a beautiful cheese and pepper or, why not, with a drink with a sinuous scent of generous grated truffle. Madness of an excessively alcoholic end of year night? No, don't worry, it is much more simply the creations born from the inspiration of the "social bartender" of the La Dispensa restaurant in Lugano Gabriele Stillitani, in art or, better, on social networks @mint_drink. Definitely out of the ordinary cocktails that manage to transfer the taste – and charm – of the great traditional recipes or the most refined ingredients of the season into the glass. Let's find out together.
Cin-cin with truffles
We are used to seeing it as the absolute protagonist on eggs, tagliatelle and risotto, of course, but the truffle can also prove to be a great ingredient in terms of mixology, above all thanks to its unmistakable scent. Gabriele Stillitani is fully convinced of this and explains how to use it best: more suitable for basically dry mixes, in order not to be cloying in combination with sweet ingredients, it can be used in flakes as a cocktail garnish or in drops to enhance everything with its essence. From these considerations, the Truffle Silk was born, a drink that exploits the aroma of truffles, used in the form of foam, to harmonize and soften the hints of vodka and white vermouth.
Truffle Silk
40 ml vodka
20 ml white vermouth
15 ml lemon juice
15 ml red fruit tea syrup
Truffle top foam
Take a shaker and pour the ingredients inside, mix well with a barspoon. Fill the shaker with ice and shake. Filter the contents with a double strain into an iced cup. Take the siphon with the truffle foam inside and make the top of the drink by filling the cup slowly, starting from the edges until it is completely filled.
Cacio e pepe also to drink
The most avid fans of cacio e pepe will finally be able to find their favorite dish even in the glass. Or at least this seems to be the mission of Martini In & Out, a curious cocktail that celebrates the Roman origins by bartender Gabriele Stillitani: it is precisely a preparation that enhances the botanicals of gin through the taste of cheese and pepper, using the technique of fat washing which allows you to transfer the taste of the cheese inside the distillate. The result is a drink in which gin and vermouth meet pecorino romano and pepper from Valle Maggia, creating an experiment with a strong aromatic character.
Martini In & Out
60 ml gin infused with cheese and pepper
10 ml extra dry vermouth infused with Valle Maggia pepper
Make a gin flavored with cheese and pepper using the fat washing technique. At this point, pour some ice into a mixing glass so that it cools down to the right point. Add the vermouth, of which the aromatic potential has been exploited, and mix everything with a bar spoon, using the strain technique. Now, remove the vermouth that has already flavored the ice. Then pour the ice into a well-cooled cup, add the gin to the cheese and pepper and close the drink by placing a small wafer of cheese on top of the glass to decorate.
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