Jacopo Rosito, 54 Mint
Traditional Roman cuisine isn’t an obvious complement to cutting-edge cocktails. But Jacopo Rosito, the general manager at 54 Mint, sees it differently. “In my opinion, cocktails are much easier to pair with food than wine,” says the bartender. “You can’t alter a wine. But with a cocktail, if you think the dish needs more acidity, you can add it to the drink.”
Instead of Chianti, Rosito might recommend a Manhattan View, his twist on a manhattan, with your agnello alla scottadito. The grilled lamb chops’ rich char resonates with the drink’s bourbon and vermouth (here, the Tuscan brand Tamburnin); a scotch-andchocolate reduction enhances the bitter component, and porcini powder plays up the savory funk of the meat.
When the Italian-born Rosito arrived at 54 Mint, in 2015, the bar was an afterthought. “They had three bottles of gin, and the bartender would leave at 8:30,” he recalls. It took Rosito a year and a half to raise the restaurant’s cocktail program to his standards. Now, a section of the cocktail list is devoted to the seven hills of Rome, each drink inspired by one of the neighborhoods. And Rosito boasts an impressive collection of spirits from small Italian producers — VKA vodka, Villa Zarri brandy, Sabatini gin — many of which he sources himself.
Today, 54 Mint’s extensive cocktail program matches the quality — in many cases, the decadence — of its porchetta alla Romana or spaghetti alla carbonara. A twist on the Ramos Gin Fizz called the Black Sand literally sparkles, darkened with squid ink and coconut ash. The traditional components of gin, cream, egg white and soda are sweetened by amaretto, and complicated by Chartreuse. Elsewhere, amaretto is rendered as a dense foam, cresting above beetinfused vodka, Cointreau and lime — a balancing act of a digestif.
These are photogenic drinks, and several of them verge on meals themselves. At brunch, the Zia Maria is part Bloody Mary, part Caprese salad; based on Tuscan vodka and the kitchen’s tomato sauce, infused with Calabrian chiles, olive oil and Maldon salt, topped with burrata foam. A tube of dried pasta serves as a straw. It looks like a novelty, but tastes serious. And it’s a drink that’s impossible to forget.