Martini cocktails, martini bars and martini culture
Piumazzo is a tiny village between Modena and Bologna: a church, a bunch of houses and fields all around. In such a place one would expect the typical countryside bar, in Italian "il bar di paese", with a few old fellows sipping their Camparis or bianchetto (white wine). On the contrary, in Piumazzo something unusual …
Pharmarium is, according to the Google oracle, one of the best cocktail bars in Stockholm. I tried it, and it is actually very true. Placed in a small square in Gamla Stan (old town) in front of the Nobel Museum, the bar occupies the same building where once stood Stockholm’s first pharmacy, opened in 1575. The …
Located close to Campo de' Fiori, one of the most beautiful squares in the world and allegedly the only square in Rome without a church, the Argot is a rather new bar that seems to have been there forever. The entrance is a small corner door without any visible sign: you have to ring the …
One of the best feelings of being a serial barcrawler is when you enter into a bar without any particular expectation and you slowly realise that that bar is a gem. The welcome you get from the bartender, the lights, the music, the athmosphere, the accpmpanying food, and of course the drinks. Even better, when …
The American Colony Hotel is one of the best (and most expensive) hotels of Jerusalem, housed in a quiet and marvellouse old house with a fantastic garden and a unique colonial athmosphere. Apparently, the hotel has hosted serious drinkers such as Lawrence of Arabia, Winston Churchill and Bob Dylan, among others, and has therefore a …
Continue reading "Cellar Bar of the American Colony Hotel, Jerusalem"
What is a martini? Martini drinkers have very different views on this. On one side the purists: no vodka (that will be a vodkatini, or a Kangaroo), precise proportions, straight-flavoured gin, and absolutely no shaking. In a nutshell: for a purist the favourite drink of James bond is NOT a Martini. On the other, the …
Continue reading "Martini Culture: the 1966 Martini standard code"
Confirming the fact that you do not have to search for the best bar since the best bar will find you, the Gin Fizz cocktail bar is exactly in front of the apartment that I rented for a few days this summer in Bilbao. According to local cocktail drinkers I have checked with, this is …
Admittedly one of the best cocktail bars in Jerusalem, the Zuta was a great discovery, for its very relaxed athmosphere combined with a very high quality of food (the bar is annexed to a restaurant that seems veery good), drinks and service. We sat at the bar and had the time to chat with bartender …
In the golden age of Martinis (1950s and 1960s), a number of fantastic gadgets were invented to help preparing Martinis, typically aiming to make sure Martinis were as dry as possible (at that time the quest for the driest possible drink had started already). Some of these gadgets exist still today, such as the Vermouth …
The Martini Hour 