Shaken & Stirred

The rise of signature cocktails and mocktails demonstrates the skills of top mixologists that create treasured memories of special places

The alluring signature cocktail created by the Grand Hotel San Pietro’s bar manager, Marco Patanè, embodying the sun, sea, and spirit of Sicily, is the Brizza, meaning “sea breeze” in Sicilian dialect. Served in a tall highball glass, the Brizza starts with Grand Tour Gin, a locally made Sicilian gin, whose straw-yellow color is achieved from natural infusions of Pachino cherry tomatoes, Salina capers, and nettles from the Plain of Catania, with the addition of a refreshing housemade cucumber shrub and lemongrass syrup. Fresh lemon juice is added, topped off with a splash of Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic Water, and then garnished with a long cucumber ribbon and fragrant flecks of Sicilian lemon zest.

“A signature cocktail is distinguished from a classic or modern cocktail by some key elements that make it unique and identifying often with a place, a bartender, or a concept,” explains Marco.

With vistas of Mount Etna, Isola Bella, and the Ionian Sea, the Grand Hotel San Pietro embodies “a true oasis of refinement,” says food and beverage manager Luigi Bonomo. “Whether it’s a sunset cocktail on the terrace or a glass of wine under the stars, the bars of the Grand Hotel San Pietro are the perfect places to experience the chic and convivial soul of Taormina.”

Welcome to the world of the signature cocktail, a bespoke sip that transports you immediately to a particular place and time.

When you order a Martini, Manhattan, Old Fashioned, or Negroni, there will be no hesitation from the bartender before they set to work mixing your drink. In the world of cocktails, the classics remain popular in an ever-changing landscape.

A connecting thread to the modern cocktail revival in the aughts was inventive bartenders putting their own twists and tweaks on the templates of these standards and bringing forth a new class of cocktails, many of which are now considered modern classics. These include iconic drinks such as Audrey Saunders’ Gin-Gin Mule, Phil Ward’s Oaxaca Old Fashioned, Sam Ross’ Paper Plane, and Marcovaldo Dionysos’ Chartreuse Swizzle, among others.

Part of these drinks’ staying power is that they have traveled beyond the bar where they were first created to live on cocktail lists around the world in countless tributes and versions by a new generation of bartenders.

The latest buzz in the drinks world has taken a bespoke turn with the rise of the signature cocktail, likely to only be consumed at a particular establishment and proving that the drinks possess their very own transportive staying power. If you’re at The Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco, you’re likely drinking one of the nearly 2,000 Irish Coffees sold there daily. The historic Camparino Bar in Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II covers all the iconic Italian aperitivo classics, but is especially known for the Campari Seltz, an invigorating mix of ice-cold Campari and soda water served in a frozen bespoke glass. And have you really experienced a Vieux Carré unless you were sipping the spirit-forward drink from a seat at the revolving bar of its birthplace at the Carousel Bar & Lounge at Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans’ French Quarter?

Hotels tend to be the ideal setting for signature drinks that play a dual role as a spirited souvenir staying lodged in your memory with the nostalgic power to instantly evoke the particular setting, whether it’s the al fresco lemon-scented breeze looking out over the Tyrrhenian Sea on the Amalfi Coast or an après-ski snowcapped mountain view from a historic Swiss château.

Pulso Hotel in São Paulo, Brazil, has been open for less than two years, yet has already established itself as a destination-worthy venue while maintaining a strong connection to the surrounding community in the lively Pinheiros neighborhood. “Pulso is a very sophisticated hotel keen on art and design,” says owner Otávio Suriani. “But we don’t project exclusivity or the traditional luxury that might turn people away. Instead, we embrace the culture of the city so our guests can feel that we have a vital link to São Paulo. You can feel that in the hotel.”

Award-winning São Paulo mixologist Gabriel Santana created the hotel’s namesake signature drink, which is served at Pulso Hotel’s Sarau Bar. This intimate speakeasy-style cocktail den has a sophisticated German sound system and live music from a cast of Brazilian musicians and artists that lives up to its name (sarau means a gathering of people, music, and culture in Portuguese). Served in an elegant Art Deco-style Nick & Nora glass, Gabriel’s Pulso is a spirit-forward blend of Martin Miller’s gin, yellow Chartreuse, a house citrus solution, and Angostura orange bitters, finished with four drops of aromatic pequi oil from the native Brazilian fruit.

“Pulso is the Portuguese word for ‘pulse’ and Gabriel’s signature cocktail symbolizes the heartbeat and the music of the city,” says Otávio. “The drink is built on a strong spirit and resembles a dry Martini but at the same time brings on sweetness with the velvet touch from the pequi oil, which blends in your mouth as you embrace the drink, representing the comfort that our hotel brings.”

An unforgettable signature drink possesses the magical quality to live on in your mind, conjuring warm memories – along with the sights, sounds, and atmosphere – of where you experienced it that will mean so much more than any postcard or photo you take on your camera.

The rise in popularity of the mocktail has given the drink a whole section of its own in cocktail lists. The days of a bartender offhandedly assembling a makeshift combination of juices and soda water are over as mocktails are now being crafted with the same quality of care and ingredients that go into signature cocktails.

Rather than being considered an afterthought or relegated to a tiny corner of the menu, spirit-free offerings are now often featured alongside the spirited drinks to meet the growing demand from people opting to drink less or no alcohol. It’s worth remembering that the labor and ingredients that go into making a drink without alcohol can rival or be the same as one with alcohol.

“We are building out our non-alcoholic offerings, blending in our signature drinks with an option to enjoy a non-alcoholic version,” explains Pulso Hotel owner Otávio Suriani. “It isn’t fair that only cocktail drinkers get the fancy drink experience.”

Grand Hotel San Pietro’s food and beverage manager, Luigi Bonomo, ensures that non-alcoholic drinks are a priority by making five signature mocktails available on each bar menu in addition to non-alcoholic wine, spirits, and beer. “The health and well-being of our guests is fundamental for us,” he says.