You’ll often find us enjoying a good cocktail and London Cocktail Week has been a perfect chance to experiment with our tastes.
So we’ve been spending our time at The House of Peroni, sampling a new menu filled with Peroni-infused drinks created by emerging mixologists.
But The House of Peroni does more than just create delicious new cocktails: it’s also inspiring the next generation of mixologists and it’s helping them to build their careers every step of the way.
The House of Peroni was launched as a way to champion up-and-coming talent and creativity in the industry. Headed up by global Peroni master of mixology, Simone Caporale, the brand has handpicked five emerging bartending talents from around the country and together, they’ve launched the ‘Aperitivo, Restyled by Peroni’ menu. So at The House of Peroni, you know you’ll be in safe hands when the drinks are created by bartenders from the likes of The London EDITION, Bar Three, Bon Vivant, Cecconi’s and Science & Industry in Manchester.
The menu consists of five classic aperitivo cocktails, each infused with Peroni Nastro Azzurro. Think: a fresh take on the traditional Bellini, a restyled Negroni and a reinvented Americano.
We headed down to The House of Peroni to catch up with three of Peroni’s guest mixologists to talk about everything London and cocktail related.
Simone Caporale
Tell us about yourself!
I’m a bartender originally from Italy and I’ve spent the last 10 years in London. I’m very lucky because I came to London when a lot of things in the bartending world were changing. The information we have on our hands is much bigger than the previous generation. If you can work this information out well, you can make an impact on your career.
Which cocktail have you made with Peroni and how is it made?
For this edition I’m doing the Sorbetto Spritz. So we combine Peroni Nastro Azzurro with a homemade aperitivo that I do with an orange colour made from bergamot, mandarin and hops as well as Peroni. We serve the spritz like a traditional spritz with a slice of orange, but with a scoop of blood orange sorbet on top. When it melts, it keeps it cold and changes the flavour. You can play with it, you can eat it, you can drink it. You need to try it!
Where’s your favourite place to go for cocktails in London?
One of my favourite bars in London is definitely the Connaught bar, inside of the Connaught hotel.
How has Peroni empowered you on your bartending journey?
Luckily my generation of bartending broke the paradigm in that you were very limited in terms of inspiration. Now we get it from art, from texture, from colour, from storytelling and history but that’s obvious, you know. We also get it from shapes. It can really be artistic to make cocktails but you need to understand the basics first. Then you can break the rules!
What makes the House of Peroni a premium experience?
Peroni have a big respect because as a beer brand, for the first time, they pioneered the experimentation of cocktails. And it’s been a huge success – proof that there’s a possibility of a million creative things, recipes and also one very important thing: they turned a ‘standard’ cocktail into a low ABV cocktail. Which is not just a trend but the present and it’s also the future. They’ve combined a low ABV with peroni and turned it into the aperitivo and that’s genius.
Daniele Liberarti
Tell us about yourself! Who are you?
My name is Daniele Liberarti I’m an Italian bartender. I moved to London six years ago. I grew up in Italy so I have Italian blood going through my veins.
Which bar do you represent?
I represent Berners Tavern for the London Edition Hotel – we turned five years old a few days ago! We fall under the Marriott Group offering five star luxury lifestyle service.
Which cocktail have you made with Peroni and how is it made?
My drink is made mainly with grapefruit, Vermouth, Martini ambrato, some Amber tincture – really easy, really simple, topped up with some fresh, refreshing Peroni Nastro Azzurro.
What do you like about this cocktail?
It’s really nice, delicate, fragrant and easy to drink, good for pre-dinner and with a meal.
Where’s your favourite place to go for cocktails in London?
My favourite place depends on my mood! If I’m feeling a bit more posh, maybe some hotel bars, if I’m feeling relaxed, I go for a simple bar. I prefer to go for aperitif style drinks. I’ve partied a lot in my life already, so I look more for atmosphere and good company – the most important things!
How has Peroni empowered you on your bartending journey?
Peroni has helped not only me, but the bartending community to grow. It’s not just a beer brand that looks after the consumer, but the bar and hospitality industry, giving bartenders ideas of how to create new cocktails. So we take a lot of inspiration from this brand that represents the way of the aperitif, the design, the fashion, the flair and Italian culture.
What makes the House of Peroni a premium experience?
The House of Peroni is a mix of different elements – simple, but sophisticated at the same time – the product is incredibly good quality. So people come to The House of Peroni because they want a nice beer and unique atmosphere that represents the dolce vita, Italian style, aperitif style, creating this lovely intimate atmosphere where the people enjoy their drink, good company touch of food.
Matteo Ballistello
Tell us about yourself! Who are you?
So my name is Matteo Ballistello, I’m the bar manager of Soho House 76 Street and today I’m representing Cecconi’s, which is the same company.
Which cocktail have you made with Peroni and how is it made?
The cocktail I made for The House of Peroni is a twist on the Bellini. I wanted to get a really intense and nice colour and I also didn’t want to use fruit because the most popular twist on the Bellini is that it’s always made with fruit. So I thought “let’s try the beetroot” and I realised that it matches perfectly with the Peroni, which I really really like because I like bitter cocktails. I also added a little bit of Campari to give it an extra kick of bitterness. There’s sloe gin, elderflower liqueur and a little bit of lemon, too.
What’s the most unusual cocktail you’ve ever made?
The most unusual cocktail request I’ve been given was when someone asked for a non-alcoholic Martini. How do you make a non-alcoholic cocktail that’s made almost entirely of alcohol? But you know, we’ll make it for you.
Where do you find your inspiration?
I read a lot of books about cocktails and usually I get my inspiration from very old ones. Or I look around Instagram and in magazines. I go to the other cocktail bars to see what new things they’re bringing out and I always try to use interesting ingredients and to find something new that other people haven’t used yet. It’s not very easy and you need to do a lot of research. And also I try to keep my cocktails very simple but I put something interesting in to make people curious.
How has Peroni empowered you on your bartending journey?
I really like what Peroni is doing, especially with The House of Peroni at Cocktail Week because everybody is happy. You like beer? You like cocktails? We are trying to put everything together. And that’s exactly why The House of Peroni is a premium experience. Also, we are some of the best bartenders from venues around London so there’s a lot of creativity and also research behind the cocktails we’re offering today.
London Cocktail Week is running from 3-7th October between 12-11pm. Passes can be bought here. It takes place at Backyard Market, 146 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL. Nearest stations: Shoreditch High Street, Whitechapel (underground and overground) and Aldgate East. 18+ only. Please drink responsibly.