Pre Dinner

15 July 2018

By Iacopo Pilati, bar manager  of cocktail bar Terrazza12, Milano

For the cocktail:
• 50 ml Old 1919, Negroni Antica Distilleria
• 10 ml Absinthe, La Fee XS Suisse
• 1 tbs Muscovado sugar
• 2 drops Home-made rhubarb bitters
• 2 leaves Fresh cedar grass
• 1 splash Water

Method:
Long Stir & strain, Sazerac style

Glassware:
Old fashioned glass

Garnish:
Cedar grass leaf and lemon peel

Procedure:
As in a classic Sazerac, we will divide the cocktail building process into 2 steps: first, flavour the serving glass with a dose of absinthe combined with plenty of crushed ice and set apart; secondly, build the drink inside a mixing glass by combining Muscovado sugar, rhubarb bitters, cedar grass leaves and a splash of mineral water. Once the sugar is completely dissolved and the essential oils of fresh leaves have released their delicate scents, add Old 1919, Negroni Antica Distilleria, 21% abv, a refreshing bitters with strong herbaceous notes that play with the natural hints of absinthe, gentian, china and cola walnuts; a top-of-the-range product with a nearly 100-year history, during which even the name has changed from Old Negroni cocktail to Antico Negroni, through to Old1919 in recent times.
Served without ice, this drink is highly complex to the nose, with a prevalence of dry herbaceous hints of rhubarb and absinthe balanced by the harmonious notes of cedar grass and citrus; the balance of sweet and bitter parts surprises the palate, leaving a very fresh feel.

A BLAST FROM THE PAST!