Love is in the Air – Drink “Far from You” by Mario Farulla

Love is in the Air – Drink “Far from You” by Mario Farulla

I am back with a new cocktail by Mario Farulla. He is the bar manager of Ristorante Baccano in Rome, ranked number 70 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019. Let’s have a look where he got his idea from this time. It seems like love is in the air!

The cocktail is dedicated to all lovers, especially those who often work far away from home, from relatives, or from their lovers. Sipping this drink you’ll think back about your homeland, it will make you feel less far from your lover, who is patiently waiting for your return. Who better than Italian bar manager Mario Farulla could create such a signature drink?

Farulla, with important experience in London, New York and Dubai, came back to work in his native Rome at Ristorante Baccano, in Via delle Muratte, a few metres away from the Trevi Fountain. Hard work, research, an innate talent for hospitality and a unique, professional staff – first among them his ‘right arm’ Alessio Giovannesi behind the bar – and a spirits display with more than 600 bottles. A perfect location for tourists and at the same time a real temple of top quality drinks, a place to feel at home, always at ease. The wide bar encourages chatting, the numerous ‘guests’ with the best bartenders from all over the world and care for the customer has made Baccano one of Italy’s best cocktail bars. In 2019, it was ranked at 70th place in the prestigious The World’s 50 Best Bars. A wonderful achievement for Mario Farulla and his staff, for Rome, and for Italy.

And so, the ingredients become the Italian flag, with the green of the pistachio, the white of VII Hills Italian Dry Gin and its seven spices, like the seven hills of Rome, with fragrance of chamomile, pomegranate, celery, artichoke, rosehip, juniper and red orange, and the red colour of Peychaud’s bitter to close.

50 ml VII Hills Italian Dry Gin

50 ml Baccano Cordial*

5 ml Peychaud’s bitter

*to prepare Baccano Cordial: under vacuum cook 200 g of sugar, 200 ml of freshly squeezed lime, 1 sprig of thyme, 15 g of Jerusalem artichoke. Cook at 55°C for 2 hours, then filter and serve in a tumbler glass.

Pour all the ingredients into a tumbler glass full of ice, fill with some drops of bitter and garnish with small pieces of pistachio. Salute!

Picture of Farulla were provided by Andrea Di Lorenzo