The Sprezzatura Style of Bar Basso's Signature Negroni Sbagliato Glass
How a Humble Mistake Became an Italian Classic
Today’s LAST CALL dispatch is available to all readers thanks to the generous support of Le Moné.
Despite the bitter chill and the gray days of winter, the sun was peeking out this past weekend and even Punxsutawney Phil woke up in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, last Friday and didn’t see his shadow, predicting an early spring.
Le Moné has their mind set on what lies after winter, when the daylight lasts long into the evening and the sun warms your face when you’re outside in the fresh, crisp air celebrating the new season with a glass of Le Moné, a light, sunshine-bright, citrus-forward apèritif.
To properly get into the mood, VinePair and Le Moné are seeking professional bartenders to enter a spirited competition to use Le Moné’s signature Meyer Le Lemon Apéritif to craft a light and sessionable cocktail that “Brings the Sunshine,” and invokes the feeling of a warm spring day.
The “Bring the Sunshine Home Cocktail Competition” is open to professional bartenders who are legal residents of either Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, or Pennsylvania. Five online submissions will be selected to move forward and attend the live, in-person competition event in NYC on March 26, 2024 for the chance to win up to $3,000 and a trip to the Finger Lakes in upstate New York.
Contestants must enter by February 19, 2024 to be considered.
Read the Contest Rules, How to Enter, and Requirements for Entry
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The Negroni Sbagliato: Born at Bar Basso
The story of the Negroni Sbagliato, a humble mistake that turned into an Italian classic and international sensation, begins at Bar Basso, located in Città Studi, a residential neighborhood in Milan that’s home to two universities. It first opened its current location in 1947 and 20 years later Venetian-born bartender Mirko Stocchetto (1931 -2016) took over the Milanese caffe. His arrival at Bar Basso coincided with the ‘60s counter-culture in Italy, inspired by the British Invasion, and soon Bar Basso became a gathering place for students, artists, journalists, politicians, actors, editors, architects, designers, and fashionistas. Even today, Bar Basso has remained a creative hub and hangout for the fashion and design set.
In the late ‘60s, beyond aperitivo-style drinks, wine, and beer, most classic cocktails were only found in higher-end hotels. Mirko Stocchetto brought his experience working at bars from Venice to Cortina d’Ampezzo (including Harry’s Bar, Hotel Monaco, and Hotel Posta) to Bar Basso to ultimately create a cocktail menu of over 500 different drinks deemed “Cocktails in the Old School” (including the White Russian, Brandy Alexander, Bloody Mary, Grasshopper, and Gibson, to name a few) to compete with Milan’s larger bars and hotels. But the most famous cocktail served at Bar Basso was something that wasn’t workshopped or planned, but the result of a happy accident.