V Modern Italian - New hot spot in Antwerp

Whenever I'm in Italy, I'm always amazed by the large variety of bars and restaurants. It is surprising to see even the smallest places offering an excellent range of perfectly mixed cocktails. Some venues that look like simple coffee places during the day turn into lively cocktail bars at night.

I was excited when I got invited to the opening of 'V Modern Italian' in Antwerp. I had heard of places like this in big European cities before. The owners had already started a pizza place in Antwerp earlier (V Pizza Antwerp Tower). Now, they were ready for more: great pizzas, but also entrees, salads and plates of pasta, and yummy cocktails in a stylish setting. Sadly, I wasn't able to attend the grand opening. But, I was lucky enough to get a new invite a few weeks later, after a good chat with a friend at the agency that organised the opening. 

The food was great. I especially enjoyed the starter and the pizza tartuffo. But, for detailed food insights, I'll let my food-blogging wife handle that. As for drinks, I tried their ‘special’: “Limoncello Pineapple Smash” (Vodka, Limoncello, pineapple juice, a splash of lemon and Sprite, garnished with a sprig of thyme and a dehydrated pineapple wedge). It was a bit too sweet for my liking at first, but some extra stirring had a positive result.  

My wife loved her non-alcoholic version of the “Viola” (Normally mixed with Tequila, lime juice, violet extract and edible glitter. Served with Violet flowers).
After dinner, I asked the waitress for a drink recommendation instead of dessert. From the extended menu of signature and classic cocktails, she suggested the Negroni, and it was spot on. Upon request, the bartender stirred the drink right in front of me. 

One more thing: don't judge the place by its outside appearance. From the street, it looks like a pretty narrow building. But once inside, you’ll notice it's double in size. They had two buildings combined into one large place. The bar is absolutely spectacular, the open kitchen has nothing to hide and DJs play the right music to set the mood. Since they only opened this month, they are still slightly harder to find on social media, which will of course resolve in the next months. I love the concept, the vibe is very cosmopolitan. This restaurant could be in Rome or even New York. 

Address
V Modern Italian, Schuttershofstraat 49, 2000 Antwerpen

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Consulting unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Strawberry - Bergamot - Vanilla

Bergamot citrusfruit may be less known to us, it looks most similar to a lime. Its origin is said to be a crossover between a lime and an orange. The scent is very recognizable, you also recognise this scent from Earl Grey tea. Bergamot liqueur used to be the favourite drink at the Italian Royal Court. 

Italicus bergamot liqueur is made with bergamot citrus from Calabria, Sicilian lemons, lavender, chamomile, and gentian. You can drink this liqueur mixed with Prosecco, Gin, or even with a refreshing beer. Of course, I went a step further and created an original cocktail. 

The combination with strawberries and vanilla can also be found in certain desserts. I also thought this was a beautiful trio to translate into the glass. I chose typical Italian flavours and wanted to bring summer into the glass.

Strawberry - Bergamot - Vanilla

Ingredients
30ml Campari, infused with strawberry for two days. 
20ml Italicus (Bergamot liqueur)
7 ml Vanilla syrup
Prosecco

Method
Add cut-up straberries in a jar and cover with Campari. Give it a good shake and let it rest for two days. Filter the fruit out of the liquid. 

Add the Campari, Italicus liqueur and syrup to a mixinh glas with lots of ice. Stir ten seconds to cool and mix. Strain in a large wineglass and add fresh ice. Top with a good quality Prosecco. Give it just one more gentle stir (You don't want to loose the bubbles). Garnish with strawberry. 

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Consulting unless stated otherwise in the article. This recipe was created for Paal 26 Grrand Café. 

Italian Winter Spritz

For this Christmas season, I wanted to mix a couple of variations on the Negroni. And because it’s a festive season, I wanted these drinks to be slightly more challenging than what you normally see on this blog. 

The mission of this blog is to share easy, but tasty recipes. Simple cocktails that you can reproduce at home. Does this mean I never mix up a more advanced drink? Of course not, but those drinks are not what this blog is all about. 

But just maybe, you would love a more advanced drink for the Christmas holidays? If that’s the case, I’ll share one of my recent favourites with you… six ingredients, but still pretty easy to mix. It’s so tasty, you might even decide to serve it as a punch. Not festive enough?
Replace the tonic with a good quality Prosecco… solved. 

Italian Winter Spritz

Ingredients

25 ml Italian red bitter (I used Caffo Mazzodi L’Aperitivo Italiano)

25 ml Sweet vermouth (I used Cinzano)

25 ml Genever (I used Fryns Premium)

20 ml Fresh lemon juice

10 ml Simple Syrup

Schweppes Indian Tonic.

Method

Add all ingredients, except for the tonic, to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake for 15 seconds and strain it into your favourite cocktail glass. Add lots of ice and top with a good quality tonic. Give it one more stir and garnish with a slice of lemon. 

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Cherry-T, powered by Engine Gin

It’s always great to see how a brand doesn’t stop by just picking a funky name for their product. If they do it right, they include a whole story or lifestyle. This week I received a small oil can with a new Italian gin, Engine.

Engine is a distilled gin by Master Distillers in the north-west of Italy. It’s made with 100% organic products: alcohol from wheat, juniper, Piedmont sage, lemon from the Amalfi coast, liquorice roots from Calabria, damask rose and water from the Alps.

I really love the way they link this gin to the world of car races all over their branding and marketing. When you mix a GT with this gin, it’s of course a Gin & Tonic, but also a referral to Gran Turismo. If you stir up a Negroni, the N also stand for NOS, the nitrous oxide systems made famous by the movie Fast and Furious. 

I decided to play along and opened the hood of our own Italian car, the iconic Fiat 500.

Cherry-T

Ingredients
50 ml Engine Gin
12 ml Cherry syrup
30 ml Lime juice
7-Up

Method
Add the gin, syrup and juice to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake and dump it into a mason jar. Top with 7-Up lemonade. Garnish with a few wedges of lime. This drink isn’t supposed to look ‘too clean’ 😉

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

The Belafonte

It’s a big, big world and bartenders all around the globe create fantastic drinks. And of course they have to be creative and think of a catchy name for their drinks. Sometimes it happens that there are multiple drinks around the world that share the same name. This is one of those, The Belafonte.

The Belafonte is bests known as a ‘Spritz’ cocktail. A refreshing mix of 1,5 cl Gin, 1,5 cl Simple syrup, 2 cl fino sherry, 2 cl lemon juice. Just mix everything together in a large wineglass with lots of ice. Top with 7,5 cl cold Prosecco. Garnish with a basil leaf. 

This is NOT the Belafonte I’m mixing up today. I’m sharing a very easy-to-make typical Italian bitter style highball aperitif with the same name. It’s actually a variation on the “White Port & Tonic” that’s popular in Portugal. 

The Belafonte

Ingredients
30 ml Campari
30 ml Graham’s Blend Nr.5 white Port
Tonic

Method
Add the Campari and Port to your longdrink or highball glass with icecubes. Stir to mix and top with tonic. Garnish with a dehydrated orange slice. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Amaretto Sour

In the European soccer competition tonight Belgium plays against Italy. Personally I don’t watch sports on TV at all, but I suppose most of you could use a recipe for a "quick and easy" cocktail… and why not, I’ll add some Italian flavors.

In my box with bottles that I still have to test, I found this nice bottle of Amaretto Florence. This Amaretto, produced at the Franciacorta Distillery has a very delicate profile. I compared it with other Amaretto bottles I had in my stock and the difference was very clear. Less overwhelming and more almond. More flavor is always good.  

A sour is one of the most popular base recipes, and it also works great for the Amaretto Sour. This is a low alcohol, slightly sweeter sour cocktail. 

Amaretto Sour

Ingredients
50 ml Amaretto
30 ml Lime juice
10 ml Simple syrup
1 dash of Angostura aromatical bitters

Method
Add everything to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake and strain in a tumbler with fresh ice. Garnish with orange.

Tip
You can choose to have this cocktail with or without eggwhite foam. I prefer this one without a foam layer. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

AmericaNA & NAgroni (Mocktails)

No drinks are more Italian than these two iconic aperitivo’s based on Campari : The Americano and the Negroni. Could we mix them without alcohol, while keeping those typical Italian flavours?

I have tried this before in the past, but newer and better non-alcoholic products tempt me to improve these drinks in yet another try …

For your next #mocktailmonday I’ll give you recipes for both drinks. If you’re not able to find a good quality NA Amaro, you could try Monin Bitter. But you might have to adjust the measurements in that case.   

The jury is still out on the AmericaNA, the result depends very much on the measurement of the tonic. (I tried first with soda water but that - really - didn’t work). The NAgroni has the right flavour-mix and is a true winner !!!

P.S. I received this nice pocket flask with Martini Vibrante NA with the "No compromise club" sticker in my mail. With this great new products indeed no compromises have to be made. You can have a nice and flavorful drink, without the need for alcohol. 

AmericaNA

Ingredients
45 ml The Bitter Note (NA Amaro)
45 ml Martini Vibrante Non Alcoholic (NA vermouth style aperitif)
Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic 

Method
Add the amaro and Martini directly in the glass. Don’t stir in a mixing glass, because you don’t want extra dilution. Add them to a tumbler with ice and top with tonic. Stir very gently during 5 seconds. Garnish with a dehydrated orange wheel. 

NAgroni

Ingredients
30 ml The Bitter Note (NA Amaro)
30 ml Martini Vibrante Non Alcoholic (NA vermouth style aperitif)
30 ml Nona June (NA replacement for gin)

Method
Add all 3 ingredients directly in the glass. Don’t stir in a mixing glass, because you don’t want extra dilution. Just add them to your tumbler with ice and stir very gently for 5 seconds. Garnish with a dehydrated orange wheel. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Italian Shandy

 

It’s been a while since I did a Michelada or beer-cocktail. Why not go for a Spritz-style shandy? It’s weekend after all. 

I’m not using juices or lemonades to mix with the beer, but bittersweet Italian aperitifs. The result is a very refreshing drink which is not too sweet at all.

Italian Shandy

Ingredients
4 cl Select Aperitivo
1,5 cl Averna
Italian Pilsner

Method
Fill up your beer glass with ice cubes. Add the Select and Averna to the glass. Add a bit of beer and give it a quick stir. Top with some more beer and garnish with a slice of orange. It alsmost looks like a beautiful Sunrise 😉
Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Negroniweek postponed to september - Can we serve a tikidrink in Italian style ?

 

Normally the Negroniweek 2020 would have started today. Because of the COVID19 pandemic and the big challenges bars all around the world have to face when they reopen, the Negroniweek has been postponed.

Negroniweek 2020 will now take place September 14-20.
But just for fun and to keep spirits up, let’s do a Negroni-style drink with Campari, a nice spirit and a tastemaker 😉

Why not try to do a crossover between a tikidrink and a traditional Italian aperitivo?
Is that even possible? Most tikidrinks are slightly messy, often served by ‘dirty dumping’ the content of the shaker into a large glass or tiki-mug. What if we create a very simple tikidrink, but serve it like a clean Italian aperitivo?

For the base of this drink I selected Bacardi Cuatro. First I had another try with World’s End Tiki rum, but I wasn’t 100% convinced by the result. I do however use some World’s End Falernum and finish with Campari.

By the way: Italians do love their tikidrinks too. The best tikibar I have visited until today, was probably an Italian bar, Nu Lounge Bar in Bologna. The totally crazy pirates of Tortuga Bar in Durbuy are pretty high on my personal list too.

Tiki in Italia

Ingredients
50 ml Bacardi Cuatro
20 ml World’s End Falernum
20 ml Campari
10 ml Simple syrup
Tonic

Method
Add rum, falernum, sugar and Campari to a shaker with lots of ice. Shake for 20 seconds and strain into your favourite tumbler with a clean block of ice.
Top off with a few dashes of tonic to take the edge off. Add a single amareno cherry.

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

The Bicicletta, the older kind of Spritz

 

The Spritz is still one of the most popular summer-cocktails and I’m sure doing my best to support that position by enjoying lots of them during the long hot summer. It’s one of the most refreshing drinks, served on lots of ice. And at the same time it’s a perfect bittersweet aperitif.

Last year I wrote a pretty long article (in dutch) on the origin of the Spritz, mentioning that the recipe changed in the beginning of last era. Originally the Spritz was made with still wine and sparkling water. The Select Spritz, originated in Venice, was probably the first which used Prosecco instead of white wine. The Aperol Spritz which is the most popular Spritz today also uses Prosecco, but only became popular after the second Word War.

The ‘Bicicletta’ is another Italian name for the Spritz. The story says this drink was named after the men who swerved all over the road on their bikes, driving home after too many afternoon drinks at the café.

In the early 1900s the quality and balance of cocktails was probably not what we are used to today. In the US moonshine was served illegally in speakeasy bars, using lots of sugar to mask the bad alcohol.  Drinks were rougher and more in one direction. The Bicicletta is a bitter-forward drink, made with typical Italian aperitifs. It’s an even part mix of Campari, dry Italian wine from the Veneto region and soda water. Do yourself a favour and use Italian wine and water to get the right feel for this drink.

San Pellegrino is produced in Bergamo, a region which has been hit very hard by the COVID19 virus and can use all our support. The first Campari production plant is located near Milano. All three products are produced in the north of Italy, between Milano and Venice.

 
The Bicicletta

Ingredients
6 cl Campari
6 cl Pinot Grigio delle Venezie (dry white wine)
6 cl San Pellegrino (soda water)

Method
For this drink we use a wineglass, not the rounder coppa glass which is used for your typical Aperol Spritz. Add the Campari and white wine to your glass. Fill up with icecubes and give it a stir. Add the soda water and give it one last stir. Garnish with a dried slice of orange.

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

The Italian Mark

 

During the lockdown there are no events or product launches, so we try to create new and other combinations with the bottles in our homebar.

This Negroni-style drink could be the lovechild of the Boulevardier and the Contessa. The sour orange, tarty rhubarb and bitter herbs of the Aperol work very well with the slightly sweeter bourbon. I blend it together with a Belgian vermouth based on rosé wine.

The Italian Mark

Ingredients
3 cl Maker’s Mark bourbon
3 cl Aperol
3 cl Belmouth

Method
Stir everything together in a mixglass with lots of ice. Strain in a tumbler with a big block of ice. Add a dried limeslice.

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Falling in love with Olive Oyl

 

We beginnen stilaan af te tellen naar onze vakantie in Italië en krijgen dus ook meer zin in zuiderse smaken. Vandaag maken we een eenvoudige, uitgeklede versie van de Olivetto, een creatie van de Marvel Bar in Minneapolis. De Olivetto was vermoedelijk de allereerste cocktail waarin olijfolie als volwaardig ingrediënt werd gebruikt. Samen met het eiwit creëert het een rijke en zijdezachte textuur.

Deze cocktail deed me met een glimlach terugdenken aan één van de tekenfilmfiguurtjes uit mijn kindertijd.

“Falling in love with Olive Oyl”

Ingrediënten
60 ml O’live Gin
30 ml vers citroensap
15 ml Cointreau
10 ml Extra Virgin Olijfolie
15 ml suikersiroop
1 eiwit

Bereiding
Voeg het eiwit en de olijfolie samen in een shaker die maximaal tot de helft gevuld is met ijs. Shake krachtig tot beide ingrediënten een zachte emulsie vormen. Reken op twee minuten krachtig schaken, het is dus tegelijk ook een stevige workout.

Voeg daarna de overige ingrediënten toe en shake nogmaals een tiental seconden. Voeg wat vers ijs toe indien nodig.

Serveer doorheen een fijn zeefje in een voorgekoeld Martiniglas. Versier met een eetbaar bloempje.

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.