Dear cocktail lovers and Sicily enthusiasts, we are thrilled to welcome you to the compelling world of "Cocktails in Sicily" , the new island mixology book that captures the soul and vibrant flavors of the island.
The author, Alessandra Dammone , Sicilian by birth and in every fiber, guides us through a unique journey in which the art of drinking becomes an unprecedented sensorial experience. His introduction offers an in-depth look at the context that inspired the creation of this book, laying the foundation for an unforgettable exploration into the world of contemporary Sicilian cocktails.
" I have lived in Sicily for more than forty years. I was born there, raised there and returned after every trip. I feel it in my veins and under my skin.
Yet I still feel like I don't really know it, that I can't fully grasp its magic, that I'm never capable of exhausting it in words.
It will be the perfect union of the sea and the land, the unprecedented joy of light and colors or the pungent smell of seaweed burned by the sun. It will be the ephemeral consistency of the jasmines that leaf out at dusk, the celebration of ripe figs or the lapping of the waves that is constantly felt in the mind, even when the sea is far from us.
It will be the explosive power of the individual elements or perhaps it will be that the suggestion of the entire island is much more powerful than the sum of its parts, the result is a bewitching and generous land, but ineffable beyond all imagination.
The book you have in your hands was born from the amazed acceptance of this unspeakable enchantment, and from the conviction of having to deal with a place outside the world, a hyperuranium where all the possible goodness, or at least an equally delicious alternative, succeed to be born and grow luxuriant, defying the laws of physics, botany and, often, even the more banal ones of logic.
(...)
But what is the state of mixology in Sicily today? Is it possible to apply the same rules that we have seen work successfully in the kitchen? Can we think about intelligent substitutions in search of unusual balances in the wake of what is already known, and create something truly new starting from local inspirations and raw materials that are sometimes niche, sometimes common, but no less extraordinary?
Surprisingly, but perhaps not too much, the answer is that not only is this great little miracle possible, but it has already been underway, under our distracted eyes, for more than a few years now. Not a hidden jolt, not an underground change that develops quietly , but a real subversive movement is taking place on the counters and in the premises of the land of Trinacria.
A Sicilian revolution that expresses a precise territorial identity, made not only of raw materials, but also of ways, habits and attitudes, at the service of the customer's palate and throat .
The result is collected in the proposals of this book: twist on classics (i.e. reinterpretations of great traditional cocktails) and new drinks made not exclusively with local ingredients, because Sicily, as we know, is a land of sharing, hospitality and inclusion , especially at the table, but with a distinctly Sicilian character, made by bartenders who make the art of mixing not only their profession, but the (alcoholic) perspective of a lifetime.
This book lends itself to at least three different readings: it is a snapshot of the happy state of the art of mixology in Sicily, the national leader of new and poetic alcoholic feelings; it is a ready-to-use manual for those who want to approach the subject with simplicity and quickly find themselves with a drink in hand, but more aware of what they are drinking; it is an easy solution for those who, having returned home melancholy after a holiday on the island, want to relive its suggestions and emotions and immerse themselves in its aromas and flavours, finding them unchanged in a cocktail glass. (...)"
To give you a taste of what awaits you, we share with you one of the extraordinary recipes in the book:
Brì
(Riccardo Figà - homage to my woman)
Ingredients:
50 ml Etna vodka
90 ml Polara lemonade
2 spoons of sea water for food use
5/6 basil leaves
Method:
For the waffle: place some sugar on half a lemon and caramelize it with a blowtorch. Leave to cool until the sugar has solidified and lift the wafer with tongs.
Technique: Build
Glass: 1/4 l tavern carafe
Garnish: Lemon sugar wafer and salted lemon zest
Taste: Citric, saline, citrus
Alcohol content: Medium