Three Great Cocktails Bars in Florence

I recently hit Florence for a week of R&R with the wife and kid. None of us had ever been, so before we left, I did my research on which bars to hit. And by “research” I mean I asked my well-traveled friends for recommendations, including Michter’s president/certified Italian Joe Magliocco; Stefano Pileggi, originally from Calabria and now proprietor of Collezione, NYC’s opulent liquor boutique; and of course WTD? regular/global drinker Philip Duff. Philip knows seemingly every bartender in the world and is not shy about making introductions, so by the time we touched down in Firenze, the bars around town were on high alert.

Cocktails Fit for a Pope: Atrium Bar

Edoardo Sandri at Atrium Bar, Florence — Edoardo Sandri at Atrium Bar

We wasted no time checking out the Atrium Bar at the Four Seasons, where we enjoyed a good chunk of their latest cocktail menu, (plus an excellent off-the-menu Shirley Temple for the young’un), whipped up by barman extraordinaire Riccardo Blasini, as well as a terrific bone-in Veal Milanese the size of my head. Oh, and a glimpse of Ye, née Kanye West, who was staying at the hotel. Our favorite of the drinks was The Pope — named for Pope Leo XI, who actually lived in the future Four Seasons palazzo for a month before his sudden death in 1605. Made with Altos Plata tequila, fig mustard, and blackberries, it’s as good to look at as it is to drink, with an ice ball rising iceberg-like above the liquid level in the coupe glass.

I made a solo return visit on our last night in town at the behest of head bartender Edoardo Sandri, who’d been absent our previous visit. The Atrium Bar was a scenic 15 minute walk from our hotel, so how could I say no? And I’m glad I didn’t, after getting a sample of a gorgeous house-made barrel-aged Negroni and an impeccably crafted Farmer’s Gin martini. No Kanye sighting this time, but the company of Edoardo and bar manager Alessio Anedda were vastly superior.

Cocktails With a Dash of Italian History: Locale Firenze

The most memorable spot we visited on our trip was Locale Firenze, housed in a 16th century palazzo that belonged to the Medici family. Such things are relatively common in Florence, where you’ll walk into a high-end shoe store or a pharmacy and it turns out to be in a 500-year-old castle or something. But this was pretty impressive even by Florentine standards. Newly renovated without scrubbing out its history, it’s an absolutely stunning bar/restaurant. We opted for the seven-course tasting menu, each course paired with a cocktail (by “we” I mean my wife and me — darling daughter enjoyed her pasta pomodoro and Coke). Fortunately, all the drinks were of the low-ABV variety, simple, unadorned and very delicious concoctions featuring vermouths, sherries, amari and the like. We wound up having about 10 cocktails apiece, all told, and were still able to leave under our own power. I even got a tour of the private events area from head bartender Fabio Fanni, which was in the 12th century home atop which the palazzo was built. You just don’t see stuff like this in New York! There was even a tiny section that was built before the time of Christ… and you and your friends can have dinner and drinks there. One of the most spectacular meals I’ve ever had, in a truly jaw-dropping setting.

Of Purple Negronis and Parmesan Cheese: Gucci Giardino 25

But a strong contender for best cocktailing in Florence — at least going on our small sample size — was Gucci Giardino 25 (yes, that Gucci), an exquisite bar/snack place helmed by Martina Bonci, 2024’s winner of the Blue Blazer award for best mixologist in Italy. And judging from our experience it’s a title well earned. The most eye-catching of the cocktails was the Memoire di Negroni, a purple variation on the red theme thanks to butterfly pea powder; yuzu sake and grapefruit bitters give it a citrus-y vibe that even my Negroni-agnostic wife adored. We adored it so much, in fact, that we brought a pre-batched bottle home with us.

The Inaspettato, with black tea, pepper, and soy sauce, was obviously umami-forward, but after a nibble of the Parmesan cheese that accompanied it, sweet notes of pineapple, fig and vanilla magically came to the fore. The Caccia Al Tesoro was a spectacular daiquiri variation with chamomile, passion fruit, pineapple and basil. There were more cocktails — many more — and while I’m not going to say that our two visits there were a life-changing experience… well, they may have changed my life. And that’s even without going into their Tuscan Burger, a sublime mound of perfectly seasoned beef tartare on a bun that helped soak up the multiple cocktails we enjoyed.

Meanwhile, Back In The States…

Once we touched back down at JFK, it was back to work. And by “work,” of course, I mean hanging out with NBA legend/bourbon brand owner Stephen Curry at Zero Bond, at an event to promote his Gentleman’s Cut Bourbon. It’s not like Steph is operating the stills or anything, but a chat with him revealed that he is genuinely passionate about the category and cares what goes in the bottle — “It’s got my name on it, so I have to be sure it’s good.” Aged 5-7 years, with a mashbill of 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malted barley, and bottled at 90 proof, it’s not bad, especially in cocktails, though sipping it reveals its shortcomings — it could definitely use another couple of years in the barrel. Curry himself says his sweet spot for aging is 7-9 years, noting that “those older Pappys, the 20, 23 year old, they’re too old, too oaky.”

I’m looking forward to returning to Gentleman’s Cut when it’s got another couple years under its belt. The unquestioned highlight of the night? Introducing Steph to Allen Katz of NY Distilling Co fame, whose excellent Jaywalk Rye recently launched. Legend meeting legend!

Ambling Down Memory Lane, Bourbon In Hand

Back in the olden times of the first Obama administration, when I was a rookie booze writer, I met a rookie distiller named John Little who was doing some pretty cool things with his then-new West Virginia-based brand, Smooth Ambler. He distilled his own whiskey, but Smooth Ambler was perhaps best known for being one of the first brands to source its whiskey and be totally transparent about what they were doing and where they were getting the stuff from. Little and team were consistently able to sniff out top quality whiskey — or rather scout it out, hence the “Old Scout” name for their sourced bottlings. John was recently back in NYC to re-launch the long-defunct Old Scout 7 Year Old bourbon. It was terrific both to see John again (he’s as gray as I am, but I dare say it looks good on both of us) and to drink his whiskey. The 7 is as tasty as ever, an impeccably crafted high-rye bourbon from Indiana, blended and bottled in WV, just like the good old days. Also worth scouting out is their Contradiction bourbon and rye, featuring their own West Virginia whiskey blended with the finest booze to be had from other locales (Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, you name it).