Martini cocktails, martini bars and martini culture
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 …
This is the first of a series of posts dedicated to the most legendary martini bars on the planet. No surprise I'll start with what is now called "The Hemingway Bar" at the Ritz Hotel in Place Vendome in Paris. Bar Hemingway Photos At The Ritz Hotel To understand why this bar is a legend, …
Continue reading "Legendary Bars: The Hemingway Bar at the Ritz Hotel, Paris"
Chueca, the hip barrio in Madrid, is full of bars, still it is not that easy to get a really good cocktail or two (we leave to others the debate on how the recent cocktail hype in Spain has not really raised the average quality of drinks in the country). But, some really good bars …
Sometimes bars are in your destiny, as proven from the fact that the Mad Dog opened its doors on the very same day I moved to Torino, on first of November 2014. You might think: with so many bars opening in town lately, where is the big news? Well, the fact is that, in my humble …
If you look for serious cocktails in Amsterdam, Hiding in Plain Sight is where you want to be. Not too far but far enough from the noisy touristic part of the city, this bar is an hidden gem in the city who gave birth to Genever, the ancestor of gin (well gin was not really created …
Continue reading "Hiding in Plain Sight, Amsterdam, The Netherlands"
Officially called "The bar with no name", but known as 69 Colebrooke Row, this bar is an absolute gem, and a good example of how fame should not change a place. In fact, despite being one of the most trendy and talked-about bars in London and having being nominated twice for the very prestigious ‘world’s …
 Some bars are landmarks in history. For example, since 1923 the bar of the Copacabana Palace - one of the first hotels built on the beach of Copacabana - has been serving drinks to the world jet set. Today you have two choices: the Bar de Copas, a  poshy bar where the rich Cariocas go to …
Continue reading "Copacabana Palace, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil"
Want to feel like the rich Italian fazenderos who created the fortune of Sao Paulo with their coffee business in the 50s, and in the meantime have a glance at the city skyline? Then go to Terraço Itália, the terrace bar (& restaurant) on top of the Edificio Italia in downtown Sao Paulo. The place …
Martini, jazz and history go well together. If this is true, a good martini in an historical jazzclub should be "the" experience you are looking for. You can find this in many clubs in NYC and beyond, but here we are talking of something more. We are talking of drinking your thing in the very …
Let's get it straight: the Bridge Café is the oldest surviving bar in New York City. Once it was a brothel, then a speakeasy, then a tavern, now it is a classy and very enjoyable restaurant and bar. The bar is located in a woody building erected in 1794 with a splendid view on the Brooklyn Bridge …
The Martini Hour 