If you want to venture into the most authentic and eventful Florence this evening, but especially if you are looking for old-fashioned atmospheres and you want just the right sparkle, there’s only one address to turn on your night, Via di Mezzo 28/R, and the fuse that will trigger it is only one: Bitter Bar – Cocktail Experience.
In the heart of the Sant’Ambrogio district, you will be welcomed by Cristian Guitti, conductor of this creative workshop and exceptional mixologist, who in his realm recreated the thrill and joie de vivre of the ’20s, with its fascinating and relaxing atmospheres, background jazz music and sophisticated cocktails that will make you want to become real connoisseurs.
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the place is located right in Via di Mezzo, which with its name, fully recalls the philosophy of the concept bar: to create drinks that hook the past and the future in what regards mixing techniques, ingredients and recipes, but, above all, to transfer the gastronomic approach to the preparation of cocktails, with blends that, trust us, will leave you speechless.
The drink list, divided into six sections, ranges from a spin-off of Negroni, the undisputed prince of the menu to South American contaminations, with Pisco, Tequila and Mezcal as proud representatives of a fascinating and always original exoticism, that in such a place can only be welcomed with open arms.
But let’s go with order. We start off the menu with a “Spin-Off Negroni”, with four variations to try among the citrus, pungent and smoky notes of Ginepraio, Bitter and Vermuth; then we have “Easy” with three proposals and an enveloping and spicy character at the same time; “Oil & Butter”, for those who are conquered by sins of gluttony and love to travel both with their mind and palate; “Twist and Shout” for strong and curious tastes; “Singing in Louisiana” for experimenters and lovers of refined flavors, and finally “Class Touch” for those who want to be amazed and go beyond the classic drink, between smoking techniques and spicy notes.
The drink list is completed by a selection of non-alcoholic cocktails that take inspiration from their “older siblings”, by the possibility to order Minidrinks (only after the first regular one) and “Sharing Cocktails”, if your group is larger than six people. Beware, however, the Bitter Bar has very specific rules and you can find them all written on the first page of the menu: in here, you come to travel, to open up to new horizons of taste, horizons that in some ways are entirely new. If you want a simple Gin Tonic, by now you will have understood it: you have chosen the wrong place.
If instead you are real conquerors, let yourself be seduced and follow the traces of Conte Negroni, be inspired by his passion for travel, and your mind will create a film of your own, an Italian Great Gatsby that, by tomorrow morning you’ll feel like you have really lived and known. And you will not have a headache, just a great desire to start the dream from where you left it.