Our new story of “summer love cocktail” is from Simone Mina. Bartender, mixologist and Head bartender at Ch 18 87, in Rome, Italy. Read what he has to say…
“If my first love were a cocktail, it would be a Pinch”
It was the time of the primary school, me and another couple of friends were totally lost for Marta, the most desired girl of the class. We were friends but all struggling between us. But I don’t want to dedicate my recipe to this, to her… My drink is dedicated to a non corresponded love that was happening in the same time, that is printed in my mind.
At that time (I think was like the last year of primary school) I was sharing my desk… with marta you will say, but no. It was with Michela. She was pretty and always very gentle with me, she was the perfect schoolmate, she was better than me with classwork but she always help me or allowed me to copy from her, there was always a tender smile for me…
One day, during the break of the late morning, I still remember clearly, I was sitting at my desk when I turn myself and I saw Michela coming back and looking at me smiling. She arrived close to me and, always smiling, she tenderly pinches me on my cheek and then she seat on hers side.
From that moment Marta was cancelled form my mind. It was the first time that i felt myself “loved”, in a certain way. Nothing happened with Michela and I don’t even know if I’m right.
I was totally unprepared for something like this and totally unarmed, but when you are a child and you are so young you are also a little stupid and you don’t realize the magic that you have next to you… and sometime you lose a train.
I want to dedicate my drink to this, to the first, fresh, young, bittersweet love that I had and that I didn’t realize the was there.
Pinch
Ingredients
4 cl Mancino Vermouth Chinato
3 cl Ron Botran 15
1,5 cl lime juice
Menthe Pastille Giffard 0,5 cl
0,5 cl Peach liquor
Apricot Brandy 0,5 cl
0,5 cl Cupido Dry (dry vermouth with Ylang Ylang exensial oil)
2 dash Hell Fire Bitter
Soda water to top
Grounded tonka beans
Technique: Rolling
Glassware: Highball glass
Garnish: Powder of Mint on the glass; Rose bud; Lemon Peel
Method:
Pour all the ingredients except for the tonka bean and the soda water in a tin.
With the help of a lime, make the mint crustas on the glass and fill it with ice.
Roll the drink and pour it over ice.
Fill up with soda water and stir a little bit to amalgamate the drink.
Ground some tonka bean on the top of the drink and garnish with three dried rose bud and a lemon peel.
Enjoy your Pinch and…. Salute!!!
You can follow Simone Mina and his cocktail creations on Instagram @simone_ch1887
Don’t drink and drive. Enjoy responsibly.