Great success for the Roma Bar Show: the first international event held in Italy, entirely dedicated to the beverage & mixology world.

A very large public has awarded, on September 23^th & 24^th, the Roma Bar Show. An international event that saw the participation of hundreds of companies in the beverage, mixology and even food sectors. A few numbers are enough to give an idea of the scope of the event:

– 9628 presences
– 28 tasting room
– 8 Academy Lab
– 10 Main Seminars
– The largest Mixology seminar (with Marian Beke) ever done with over 800 participants in a single auditorium
– 185 stands
– about 8 thousand square meters covered between the square, first and second floor plus the terrace
– 3 Italian Finals (Patron and Montenegro and Bar Black Game by Fernet Branca)
– arrival of the La Classica by Martini cycling race
– The first Buchi technical lab in the world for Barman

So, the public of both professionals and enthusiasts was able to give free rein to their curiosity and tastes, having at disposal the best that companies in the sector currently offer.

We have been present both days and (thanks also to the very expert suggestions of Carlo Dutto) we have been busy to explore a practically infinite, fun and colorful world, between single liquors of the most varied origins, “old” and new mixes and interesting surprises. As always, however, even if only taking photos (or video …) it was practically impossible to document everything, think if it could be tasting the thousands of possible alcoholic combinations!

However, despite our human limitations, we have much to report to our readers. So, let’s start with the video below and then we’ll move on to the actual “narration” with our discoveries… 😉

Day One

So let’s start with a “simple” but effective “Strega” liqueur-based cocktail: a classic that never sets, mixed for us by Virginie Amélie Doucet, recent winner of the V edition of the Mixology Strega award. Also noteworthy was the Amaro Luna Nera, always in the same stand.

Excellent, the different declinations of the Professor’s Vermouth: amber, bowed and superior. Born from the desire to revisit great classics, thanks to the collaboration between the Jerry Thomas Project and the Quaglia distillery.

Unusual (and very good) an original “composition” to … drink and eat … that we tasted at the stand of Fiume Amaro Pugliese. A small basket of pasta with the bitter inside, covered with a foam made from almond milk.

Instead, in the Drink | IT stand, several ready-made drinks were dispensed (in a very original way …) and given that this year is the centenary of his invention, we could not avoid tasting a good Negroni.

Another reality worthy of attention was the Amaro Venti, presented to us by its creator, Marco Rivolta, at the Rinaldi 1957 stand. The characteristic of this bitter (excellent both alone and in mixes) is the particular botanical form, since it contains in fact twenty essences, coming from each of the Italian regions. We could therefore define it as our bitter “national” Amaro.

Crafter’s is very good, a floral Estonian Gin that, curiously, changes color with the addition of tonic water. The Re-Crafted Crafter’s soft-drink is also good, deriving from further processing of juniper berries after the production of the Gin itself.

To conclude our first day, we did not miss by Martini a seminar on different types of Single Malt Laphroaig, held by Cristina Folgore, Brand Ambassador of Bacardi Beam Suntory, together with Stefano Carlucci, owner of the legendary Le Bon Bock whisky bar in Rome.

Day Two

We started the second day (very well indeed) tasting the PhD – Philosophiæ Doctor Gin. A truly special product, where toasted cocoa beans are combined with juniper. An all-Italian gin, created by Rossella Liberti together with other passionate researchers from the Faculty of Medicine of Salerno, which can very well be tasted in purity, accompanied as it is with the rum, by a piece of chocolate. The production was carried out in collaboration with Mistico Speziale. It should be noted that the diffusion of distillates in the West is due to the Salernitan Medical School from the tenth century onwards. A great tradition therefore, which is renewed with this original initiative.

Next, we recommend Rivo, the first Italian Sloe Gin made with exclusively Italian blackthorn berries. A gin that, given its characteristics (blackthorn berries are picked and selected by hand) is produced in limited quantities. In fact, each bottle has a hand-numbered label. Definitely for (few) connoisseurs.

After two Gin, we made a stop at the Bartender Experience booth – The world of Mixology by Pernod Ricard, where we enjoyed the Sparkling Cuban, a cocktail made with Rum Havana 7, mint and ginger syrup and Champagne Mumm.

A long pause then, at the Reale DRINK I stand, where we lowered (our) alcohol content just a little bit, tasting some mixology products, such as the super concentrated fruit juices from Il Doge or the Dreamy fruit pulps, as well as some beer that … never hurts. We mention La Bassa by Brewfist and the agricoltural Rubia – Birra Lara.

Of course, we could not stay at “low alcohol level” for a long time and so, we moved to the Mezcal of Los Siete Misterios, produced in Mexico since 2010 by the Mestre brothers. Behind these Mezcal there is the will to recover and further expand the ancient Mexican traditions, both from the point of view of completely artisanal production methods as well as to cultural influences, linked for example to the Dias de Los Muertos traditions. Even the particular labels are inspired by the works of the late 19th century artist José Guadalupe Posada. A dozen fazendas collaborate with the family of the Mestre brothers who, with this initiative have given new impetus and support to the local economy.

Another “leap” in time and space and here is a stop by Keglevich, where … rightly, we “quenched our thirst” with a nice Vodka-based K-Fruit Mule (we talked about the recipe HERE).

The following stop was at the Bordiga 1988 stand, a company from the Cuneo area that produces among other things the Pink Gin, characterized by a particular philosophical “social” approach: the whole local community is in fact involved in the berry harvesting procedures in Occitan valleys. But we didn’t stop at Gin, as we also wanted to taste the Vermouth Excelsior (based on 3-year-old Barolo wine). A commemorative reissue for the company’s 130th anniversary, of a product that dates back to the early 1900s. Really not to be missed!

A nice surprise was that of the Bugin company, which would be … a butcher! In reality, everything started from a family butcher’s shop, which then turned into a restaurant which, in turn, to better taste the famous Piedmontese meats (and their cured meats), decided to combine them with special cocktails but … still lacking something: that they wanted the Gin to be produced by them … and so, here is BuGin! The first Italo-Piemontese Gin botanically studied to enhance the taste and flavor of the meat. Well, given the logistic situation, the tastings were limited only to some (delicious) cold cuts, but we can confirm that the idea really works!

At the end of our day, with the (very small) part of our liver still working, we didn’t want to miss a second seminar (always held by Cristina Folgore). All right, but they were “only” two Bourbons: Gim Beam and Maker’s Mark.

We forgot: we obviously had some refreshment “spizzicando” something around, but above all, thanks to the collaboration of the Mexican Village.

As you may have understood, we harshly “sacrificed” for you, seriously endangering our physical and mental health … 😀 and the beauty is that, as always, we did it while we were photographing and (as you may have noticed ) taking videos too. Indeed, we advise you to look at it, to have a more complete impression of what the Roma Bar Show has been, regret having lost it (or remember the good times if you have been there) and … prepare yourself for the next edition!

Cheers!