More drinks inspired by the world of cinema: three cocktails with Cognac Hine created by the best Italian mixologists.

Just before Easter, even in the hard times we’re living, we’d like to send our best wishes to our loyal readers and therefore we publish this fourth (albeit in a reduced format) episode dedicated to cocktail inspired by movies. A trend that evidently “tickled” the imagination of the Italian mixologists so much and which is highly appreciated by the readers.

As usual, we immediately give the floor to our friend Carlo Dutto who will introduce the Maison Hine and to follow, will propose the recipes of the drinks.

And, as always, our invitation is to drink in moderation.

Maison Hine

Founded in 1763, Maison Hine is one of the oldest Cognac manufacturing companies. For its spirits, it uses exclusively the grapes produced in the two most prestigious crus of the region, the Grande and the Petite Champagne. All its Cognacs have aged for a period much longer than the legal requirements. In its 250 years of history, the Maison Hine has also established itself worldwide as a great specialist in the production of vintage wines, an authentic rarity in the Cognac sector. Hine’s superb international reputation is confirmed by the 30 awards and recognitions obtained by the Maison over the past five years. Hine, distributed in Italy by Rinaldi 1957, is also the only Cognac company to hold the exclusive Royal Warrant, namely the seal of official supplier of the Royal House of England. In particular years, when the climate allows a harvest of exceptional quality, the Maison Hine preserves a small quantity of Cognac distilled exclusively from the grapes of the most prestigious cru, the Grande Champagne. They are the vintage (vintages), of which Hine has put together over the centuries a collection that is unequaled in the sector. The vintage wines are aged and refined in the Hine and Jarnac cellars, in conditions of temperature and humidity which guarantee the obtaining of elegant, full-bodied and extraordinarily complex distillates. Some vintage Hine are instead transported in drums to Bristol, England, to age beyond the Channel, according to an ancient custom of the nineteenth century: these vintage are called Early Landed Cognac. With lower average temperatures and higher humidity rates than in Jarnac, the vintage aged in Bristol acquire and maintain more delicate, light and fruity notes.

The Recipes

DRINK: BURN REVENGE
(inspired by the film “Dogman”, by Matteo Garrone, 2018)

BARMAN: Damiano Di Benedetto, bartender of the Baccano restaurant in Rome, entered 70th in the ranking of The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019

INGREDIENTS:

30 ml Cognac Hine VSOP
10 ml vanilla syrup
Champagne Jacquart to fill
A veil of Absinthe Versinthe

Glass: flute
Garnish: lemon peel

PREPARATION:
Wet the glass with a few drops of absinthe, pour all the already cold ingredients into the flute glass and fill with champagne. Complete the drink with a melancholy veil of absinthe and a lemon peel as a garnish.

INSPIRATION:
Drink inspired by the film ‘Dogman’, which takes its cue from a news story, the so-called Canaro crime, the murder of the criminal and amateur boxer Giancarlo Ricci (Simone in the film, played by Edoardo Pesce), which took place in 1988 in the Magliana district in Rome, it seems at the hands of only Pietro De Negri (Marcello in the film, played by Marcello Fonte) called “er canaro ”. The drink is called ‘Burn Revenge’, because it tells of a revenge after years of countless abuses, crimes and violence against several inhabitants of the neighborhood, but especially of the protagonist, who in fact decides to set a trap for the boxer, ending up killing him, burning him alive and later showing the corpse to all the inhabitants of the neighborhood. have eliminated the nightmare that has haunted them for years. A revenge that burns slowly … this drink takes you back to the childhood of the bartender in the suburbs, between murky paths and rare lights and is slim, under tile like its protagonist, but with a strong rebellious impetus like the perlage of Champagne Jacquart and the unexpected power of cognac Hine VSOP. A drink that can be tasted in the Baccano Restaurant, a stone’s throw from the Trevi Fountain, entered 70th in the prestigious ranking of The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019.

DRINK: BLACK MAMBA
(inspired by the movie ‘Kill Bill: Volume 2’, by Quentin Tarantino, 2004)

BARMAN: Andrea Esposito, bartender of the Hotel Hassler in Rome

INGREDIENTS:
2 cl mezcal Los Siete Misterios
1.5 cl Cointreau
2 cl lime juice
1.5 cl orange juice
3 drops of Hine Antique Xo cognac

Glass: transparent mug
Garnish: 2 blackberries

PREPARATION:
Pour the ingredients into the blender except for the cognac Hine, add the ice and blend. Pour the mixture into a transparent mug, add 3 drops of Hine Antique Xo cognac on top and garnish with two blackberries.

INSPIRATION:
The “Black Mamba” drink pays homage to one of Quentin Tarantino’s cult films, Kill Bill: Volume 2. Inspired by this film, here is a twist on the classic Margarita, a strong and decisive drink like the protagonist, Beatrix Kiddo, called Black Mamba, played by Uma Thurman, who drinks it in one of the scenes left in the imagination where a real black mamba snake appears.

DRINK: FINIMONDO
(inspired by the movie “I hope that I get along”, by Lina Wertmuller, 1992)

BARMAN: Vincenzo Tropea of the Pierluigi restaurant in Rome

INGREDIENTS:

40 ml cognac Hine
20 ml OSCAR Vermouth 697
20 ml Formidable Bitter
Absinthe Versinthe to flavor the glass

Glass: Vinea cup
Garnish: lemon peel

PREPARATION:
With the stir & strain technique, a previously cooled mixing glass is used and, apart, a Vinea cup filled with crushed ice on which to pour Versinthe absinthe to flavor it. Pour Hine cognac, OSCAR.697 Vermouth and Formidabile Amaro into the mixing glass. Fill with ice until full and mix for a few seconds with a barspoon. Empty the flavored Vinea cup and pour the mixed contents with a strainer. Garnish with lemon essential oils and lemon zest.

INSPIRATION:
Inspired by “I hope that I get along”, with an unforgettable Paolo Villaggio in the role of the Nordic teacher who almost succeeds in the impossible mission of bringing the children of a disadvantaged suburb of the Neapolitan back to school. All pupils, except one, the baby hooligan Raffaele, who after teaching the master the art of getting by, at the time of farewell decides to give him his own, last attempt at class assignment on the parables of the Gospel, writing a theme on an improbable “end of the world”, capable of reconciling with the power of dreams and hope. The use of our elements therefore refers to the boy’s idea of wonder, but at the same time to the teaching that life gives daily, always poised between the Sweet and the Bitter. When, with a spirit of tradition such as cognac Hine, two elegant and thick Italian liqueurs are associated, Vermouth OSCAR.697 (the Sweet) and Amaro Formidabile (the Amaro), the result can only be the end of the world!