Cecilia is a bartender at Gocce, Paris. She shows us 2 cocktails, one is Campari based and the other one mezcal based
Cecilia introduce yourself
Hi I’m Cecilia, and I’m a bartender at Gocce, Paris. I started as a waiter in Greece in a really good cocktail bar, but I wasn’t very good with alcoholic drinks. Then I moved back to Milan, where my father opened a restaurant and bar, with Oscar Quagliarini my teacher/master and he taught me everything. After some time there, I moved here to Gocce in Paris. I feel a special energy with cocktails. It came at a time in my life when you feel something different, something which wakes you up. It changed my soul. I was working for 5 years in a wine bar, but with cocktails, it’s always new products, new spices… You are shopping, you see something and wonder how to use it in a cocktail. Everything in my life is related to that now, every single moment.
The classic you want to show us
Amore Amaro : Twist of Campari Shakerato
90ml of Campari
15ml of fresh grapefruit juice
Foam of punt e mes, vodka and sucro
The bar or party you dream of
Speakeasy ambiance with stylish objects and quiet, not crowded. Quiet is important, it’s a place where you can relax on a sofa, take your time to drink good stuff, to escape the tough reality. You can switch off your mind from the city, your job, you can move to another atmosphere. And this bar should be in Cuba with the sea not too far, that’s what is missing in Gocce, Paris… the sea, otherwise it’s perfect.
The spirit you like the most
My favourite spirit is mezcal. It has its own personality. You can make what you want at the end, but you can feel it’s there. It’s like the signature of the cocktail. You can change the balance, the taste, but the flavour of mezcal is always there, it’s unique. My favourite one is Vida, because even if it is smoky, in the drink it’s always well balanced.
What makes a good cocktail and which product do you want to highlight at this moment
First of all, it’s understanding what the customer wants. You can make a good cocktail for you, but if he doesn’t want that, you fail. Our job is not to show customers that we are good, but to understand the point of view of the client and what he really wants. So you have to ask a lot of questions, even if people laugh at you because it’s like an interview. Because at the end, I want to be sure I’ll make exactly what they want. What I want to highlight is melange of Samba. It’s a pot pourri of Madagascan dried flowers with a spicy taste. It’s unique for me because with this product you really get the essence of the people from Madagascar : floral, exotic, sweet and energetic and you can feel that in the melange of Samba.
The signature cocktail you want to show us
Scomponibile
45ml of Mezcal
30ml of fresh orange juice
25ml of home made honey syrup with thyme
1/2 a yellow lemon
Pint of Himalayan salt
In another glass ginger beer with Melange of Samba, you mix both or not, as you want.
Where do you think we need to go to interview another bartender?
You need to go to Cuba, where they have invented the Hemingway special at El Floridita, it’s my dream to go there. And steal the drink list there 😉
See you next Monday the 26th of January to discover another bartender