Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/76623
ADVENTURES IN MIXOLOGY One Wascally AN ARTFUL MIAMI MIXOLOGIST CREATES A HIGH-PROOF CARTOON COCKTAIL story and photos by Kelly Merritt F or the past eight years in Miami Beach, Segafredo L'Originale Bar Manager Cristiano Vezzoli's inventive cocktails have been turning heads. Lately, his interest in molecular mixology and Thai produce carving has found a not-so-strange bedfellow in Tequila REVOLUCION. His summery Bugs Bunny Martini looks more like something you'd see in an art gallery than a bar. And the other ingredients are common on immune-boosting spa menus. It all adds up to Vezzoli's efforts to give tequila a new adjective at Segafredo: refreshing. "We are trying to re-launch the idea of tequila in Miami as a refreshing spirit, especially in this very hot weather we have here," says Vezzoli, whose inventive drink is part of the restaurant's new cocktail menu, which echoes Italian, Brazilian and healthful components. Cucumber, basil, orange slices, lime and lemon juices and—of course!— fresh car- rots serve as the base for the Bugs Bunny, along with two hearty ounces of Tequila REVOLUCION. Created in small batches, Tequila REVOLUCION is all about the true fl avor of agave. For that reason, says Rodger Reiss, Tequila REVOLUCION's Managing Director for U.S. Operations, the spirit is both for sipping and traditional cocktails. "Tequila REVOLUCION has a unique fl avor profi le and offers many expressions or varieties to allow the creative mixologist a chance to explore," he says. "Few tequila brands concern themselves with so much care in the growth and pro- duction of their products: from the use of organically grown blue agaves on the brand's privately owned farms, to the cooking and pressing of the piñas, double distillation and the extended aging process that brings each product to the optimum level of fl avor." Vezzoli's background includes stints at exotic locales Playa del Carmen, Mexico, throughout the Dominican Republic and his native Italy. The relaxed love of fl avors for which Italy is so well known transfers to his cocktails. He specifi cally selected Tequila REVOLUCION 100 Proof to make a statement in his Bugs Bunny creation. Vezzoli's Tequila REVOLUCION Bugs Bunny cocktail is a vibrant orange. He loves the fl air and freestyle that comes with being a mixolo- gist and is inspired by cocktails that are as beautiful as they are tasty. He has been working on his Thai carving skills for the past three years; the Bugs Bunny cocktail features a dramatic cucumber and carrot carving that resembles an exotic fl ower. 68 / the tasting panel / august 2012 Wabbit Cristiano Vezzoli, Bar Manager at Segafredo L'Originale in Miami, with his Bugs Bunny Martini.