Martini cocktails, martini bars and martini culture
Throughout my long and joyful barfly career, when I am in a new city for two nights I try to visit at least two bars, to get an understanding of the local "bar scene". Well, not in Bangalore: the SOKA bar was so good that I just went there two evenings in a row. The …
Big news: my book on the Martini is out! After more than 20 years of Martini blogging, drinking, reading and talking, I have tried to condense all my Martini knowledge in a book, in Italian for now. I did that not in a traditional way by writing a book with Martini recipes, history, legends and …
Continue reading "My book: Lo Zen e l’arte del Cocktail Martini"
Great video that gives an idea of how many different Martinis can be prepared, playing with ingredients, doses and techniques. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIVGM79KvDQ
Let's start from this: the Sips bar was elected best bar of the world in 2023, and scored third both in 2022 and 2024. So, even if rankings such as the World 50 best bars are sometimes disappointing, my expectations were rather high. Now, the Sips is a fantastic bar, both for the concept - …
Barflies will agree that the more a town is filled with self-defined cocktail bars, the more it is difficult to get a proper drink. Following this universal law, getting a good Martini in Malta is nothing but hard. Still, after a few failed attempts on which I will not report, I found THE place in …
Seoul has more than 15,000 bars, a strong whiskey culture and a growing cocktail scene, with some bars listed among the world best drinking spots in several rankings. During my time in the city, I've been searching for the right bar with certain limitations, basically two kids (who can mix a Martini like a pro, but are …
In my barsearching days in South Korea, I popped into a few Vynil bars, that are bars where the soundtrack is as important as the drinks, and where you can ask for songs to the bartender/dj. Amon these bars, that represent the legacy of a pre-K-pop period where classic rock, pop and soul were very …
If you are visiting Gyeongju, the old capital of the Silla kingdom of South Korea, after some walking, shopping and foot massaging (don't miss that), you'll surely need a drink. The place is quiote touristic and you'll find many bars where to drink like a local, whick means whisky highballs and Soju, but if you …
Nice 2008 interview to Barnaby Conrad III, author of the first large glossy book on the Martini (1995). Quietly disclosing some Martini wisdom... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olz7xamAmNs
I love visiting cocktail bars just after their opening time, when the evening has not started yet and you get the feeling of increasing excitement for what will happen soon. This is the moment when you can quitely talk to bartenders and when you can witness the rituals of bar preparation, and from these moments …
The Martini Hour 