Edoardo Sandri is the Head Bartender of the Atrium Bar at the Four Seasons in Florence. He makes us two cocktails, one with Calvados and Oyster Leaf and the second with Vodka and Amaro.
Edoardo introduce yourself
My name is Edoardo Sandri and I am 36 years old. I started bartending in 2003 after my graduation from high school. Once I tried a cocktail in a club and I’ve been so impressed by the drink and the girls surrounding the bartender, that the day after, I was buying a book about cocktails. I worked then in discotheques, American bar in Florence and step by step I progressed and in 2008 I joined the Four Seasons bar in Florence. Since the Atrium Bar is my second home.
The classic you want to show us
Atrium Martini
10ml of Michel Gerard Calvados
60ml of Konik’s Tail Vodka
1 Oyster leaf
The bar you dream of
My dream bar is here, the first time I came in, I said to myself, I want to be a bartender here and my dream came true. So to continue to dream, even if we have a lot of recognition in Italy, we are looking for international awards next year like joining Top 500 Bars for instance or other ceremonies.
What do you do in your time off
During this year, we had a good life balance and we can see the impact on our daily work. I am very happy about that. I boxed for 15 years, but now I am deaf from one ear and it can be an issue sometimes when someone orders on my bad side but I manage it pretty well. I love football, my team is Inter Milano, but now that I am a father, my real passion is my family. So I spend all my time with them.
The spirit you like the most
I love strong flavours, woody or smokey so mezcal is my spirit. I like the heat in my mouth, even if I grew up with a Negroni.
What makes a good cocktail
For me it’s about balance, an easy balanced drink is always better than a complex one which is not. To get the balance in a drink you need a good balance in your life too, otherwise, you are confused and your drink is not good.
What ingredient do you enjoy using in cocktails
I would definitely say herbs, like tarragon for instance. That’s why I like a non-alcoholic product like Seedlip because you can really feel the herbs.
The signature cocktail you want to show us
Polar Bear
50ml of Ketel One Vodka
20ml of Angostura Amaro
2Oml of Etna Bitter
20ml of Acidified Tarragon
50ml of Mango Sugar
100ml of Water
Liquid Nitrogen
Where do you think we need to go to interview another bartender
It’s easy, you should go to visit the Four Seasons in Milan to meet the bar manager Luca Angelli, he used to work with us for a few years.
Thank you to Florence Cocktail Week for inviting us to Florence and allowing us to experience all its wonderful bars
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