When one of the best cocktail bars in the world, The Jerry Thomas in Rome, meets quality products, the magic that comes is called Vermouth Del Professore!
The Del Professore products, Vermouth but also Bitter, Aperitif and three types of Gin, are made in the Quaglia Distillery of Castelnuovo Don Bosco.
At the end of the eighteenth century the Italian herbalists, experts in the composition of curative preparations, started the first production of voluptuous drinks. Thus was born the basic liqueur of the aperitif and modern cocktail. The research path signed by the Professor looks at that golden age, with the aim of reviving the artisan tradition, respecting some simple principles: a strong link with the territory, care for good and natural ingredients, attention to the knowledge of the craftsmen who work them.
Del Professore products reflect the history, dreams and commitment of the people who make them and are an expression of the territory from which they are born: Piedmont. The biodiversity and agricultural culture of this region offer a surprising panorama of valuable natural raw materials, among which we select many of our ingredients. Like the complex herbal recipes, historical heritage of the distillery founded in 1890 in the Asti area, the raw materials are essential and are treated with the utmost care. This is the origin of products, unique and different every time, mirror of human and terrestrial becoming, in the continuous search for a perfect balance between the wonderful imperfections of nature. Products made in collaboration with the team of The Jerry Thomas Speakeasy, born in 2010 as the first Italian speakeasy, a small club in the heart of the capital on the initiative of a group of bartenders – Alessandro Procoli, Roberto Artusio, Antonio Parlapiano and Leonardo Leuci – making available to colleagues, enthusiasts and onlookers a place to experiment and share their particular experiences. The following years are made of travel, research, study, cultural exchanges, seminars and a lot of determination that will allow Jerry Thomas Speakeasy to enter the “50 World Best Bar” ranking five times. In 2013, after a long and meticulous historical and technical research, the “Vermouth Del Professore” was born.
A story, that of Jerry Thomas, well told in the volume “Twist on classic“, published by Giunti and with the prefaces of the actor and client Jude Law and the cocktail historian David Wondrich.
As usual, Carlo Dutto describes the recipes of three of the best Jerry Thomas cocktails.
Of course, we always recommend to drink alcohol responsibly!
The Recipes
DRINK: APERITIF & TONIC
BARTENDER: the crew of The Jerry Thomas Speakeasy in Rome
INGREDIENTS:
5 cl Professor’s Aperitif
15 cl Tonic Water London Essence
Garnish: Lemon Zest
PREPARATION:
Fill a glass with ice to the rim, add the two ingredients and the lemon and mix with a bar spoon. A fresh and simple aperitif, to defeat the heat that will grip us in the summer, thanks to the Professor’s Aperitivo, which comes from the careful artisan infusion of mandarin, lemon, gentian and rhubarb. Its light flavors (15% alcohol content) and Mediterranean colors evoke the atmosphere of the fabulous Fifties …
DRINK: CHERRY BOMB
BARTENDER: the crew of The Jerry Thomas Speakeasy in Rome
INGREDIENTS:
4 cl Professor’s Bitters
15 cl Cherry Soda Three Cents
Garnish: lemon zest
PREPARATION
A fresh and light drink, extremely easy to prepare and reproduce even at home. Fill a glass with ice to the rim, add 4 cl of Bitter Del Professore and 15 cl of Cherry Soda Three Cents and lemon and mix with a bar spoon. The Professor’s Bitter with hints of juniper, releases cinnamon and other spices, the characteristic flavors of citrus, cascarilla, rhubarb and gentian emerge on the palate. The surprising ruby red color is totally natural.
DRINK: CHEEKY SMILE
BARTENDER: Gregory Camillò head bartender of The Jerry Thomas Speakeasy in Rome
INGREDIENTS:
40 ml Vermouth Del Professore Chinato
20 ml Caramelized Pumpkin Cordial
Top up Passiflora soda water
Glass: Collins
Garnish: lemon peel
PREPARATION
With the build technique, pour all the ingredients directly into a Collins glass filled with ice and mix gently.
INSPIRATION
The Cheeky Smile drink takes inspiration from the traditional carved and carved pumpkin, symbol of Halloween, which is always depicted with a smile. The smile is one of the most common and most used symbols in horror aesthetics, which characterizes several characters, among which the most famous is the Pennywise clown of the IT book, by Stephen King. Furthermore, the caramelization of the pumpkin and the pairing with the passion fruit is inspired by the traditional “Trick or treat”, a custom that requires children in masks to knock on the door to receive and collect sweets. The pumpkin is caramelized by acting on the sugars and at a temperature of about 170 degrees. The juice is extracted, then processed with natural acidifiers, to recreate a cordial one. The passion fruit juice will then be diluted and carbonated to recreate a soda with light fruity hints, characteristic of the product, which form an excellent pairing with pumpkin. All with the flavor of Vermouth Del Professore Chinato, which offers a strong and entirely natural aromatic base, with orange, vanilla, cinnamon and coriander, a right sugar component and the touch of bitter spices. A recipe that renews the ancient tradition, spread at the end of the nineteenth century, to combine the delicately bitter traits and the fortifying virtues of china with the classic sweetness and aromaticity of vermouth, to obtain suitable products both as an aperitif and as a digestive at the end of the meal.
More Info
www.thejerrythomasproject.it
www.delprofessore.it
WARNING!
We recommend that you always drink alcohol in moderation and above all, do not drive after doing it.
Texts © Carlo Dutto for iBESTmag, Images courtesy Carlo Dutto © Alberto Blasetti – Forbidden Reproduction
