FRANCESCO GALDI
Corporate beverage manager
Buddha-bar International buddhabar.com
shaken_regards
Back to basics
I am almost certain that the best-selling drink in bars around the world is the Negroni. This timeless recipe boasts a perfect balance of alcoholic body and sweet and bitter flavors. The Negroni is experiencing a rebirth, with several prominent bars placing it front and center of their beverage offering. The real trick is to go back in time and revisit the classics. After mastering them and exploring how they “work,” you can create new varieties, tweaking the traditional recipes with modern techniques to unlock new layers of flavor.
Sustainability
I believe sustainability and an eco-friendly approach to the production of spirits will be the next big thing. Our industry is enormous and has a giant carbon footprint. Companies around the world are realizing this and developing inventive packaging and new strategies to tackle global concerns about the environment. Tequila and mezcal are enjoying their best days; supply is barely meeting demand. Tequila-based cocktails are moving fast in our Buddha Bars, and classics like Tommy’s and Paloma are quite common in venues around the world. Premium and expensive tequilas are also sought after in clubs, with many celebrities riding the wave by creating their own brands. Long gone are the days when tequila meant bad taste, college parties and heavy headaches; it has transformed into a luxury spirit to be enjoyed by alcohol aficionados.
12 bottles for the bar
In Dubai, consumers are educated in its spirits department; they know exactly what they want to drink and how they want to drink it. Having a broad selection of spirits is an absolute must, but if I had to stock my bars with only 12 bottles and run with that selection exclusively, I would pick the following to allow me to create a few hundred drinks: • A juniper-forward gin
• Potato vodka
• Jamaican rum
• 100% agave tequila blanco
• Spanish brandy
• Peruvian pisco
• Sherry fino
• Banana liqueur
• Junmai sake
• Red vermouth
• Italian bitter liqueur
• Curacao If I had to pick only one spirit to make a cocktail right now, I would pick gin for its versatility.
Fancy bar equipment
Modern bars are now more like kitchens or pharmaceutical laboratories, with costly equipment that can infuse with sonic waves, redistill, carbonate or clarify ingredients. I’m a firm believer in innovative technologies and someone who enjoys experimenting with every sort of equipment available. My go-to bar accessories include cream syphons, a water circulator to complement a vacuum machine, a cheap and reliable digital scale, a couple of induction plates and a dehydrator. I am having a great deal of fun lately with a gun that makes flavored and edible bubbles; my guests love it!