3 Simple Cocktails I’ve Made During 2020/21 Lockdown

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As the world reopens you may want to put your home bar development on hold and start heading over to “real bars” again. But lockdown lifting also means being able to host friends again, now or soon—please check your local laws and recommendations. Whether you’re celebrating the end of lockdown or the beginning of the shorts season, these are three refreshing and very simple recipes to make for your guests, or simply enjoy in your backyard.

Blueberry Gin & Tonic

One evening during last summer I was looking around in the kitchen for things that’d be good to infuse in my G&T, and thought to try out frozen blueberries. Frozen blueberries are a staple in my freezer, as I like them in my protein smoothies. Strawberries work notoriously well in G&Ts, so this one was worth a try. Goes without saying, I made it more than once.

  • 2 ounces (60ml) gin
  • 6 ounces (180 ml) tonic water
  • 5-10 frozen blueberries
  • optional: a slice of lemon

Pour the gin in your favourite glass. Add the blueberries and break them with a muddler. Fill in with ice, add the tonic water, stir, and garnish with the lemon slice.

Campari & Tonic

Keeping it extremely simple here. Some recipes suggest to pour Campari and then top off with some tonic water, but I like precise ratios so that I can reproduce cocktails in the future. Some websites (including Campari‘s) recommend a 1:3 Campari/tonic ratio, but then it’s too bland for me. My favourite Campari/tonic ratio is 1:1.

  • 2 ounces (60ml) Campari
  • 2 ounces (60ml) tonic water
  • a slice of orange

Pour Campari and add slice of orange in an old fashioned glass. Add ice and tonic water, and stir.

Negroni Del Capo

Most Negroni variations involve gin—use prosecco instead and you’ve made a Negroni Sbagliato, with vodka you get a Negroski, bourbon makes it a Boulevardier, etc. Replacing Campari with another bitter may irritate purists, but Vecchio Amaro Del Capo contributes to an excellent Negroni-ish drink, which is obviously called “Negroni del Capo”.

  • 1 ounce (30ml) Vecchio Amaro del Capo
  • 1 ounce (30ml) vermouth rosso
  • 1 ounce (30ml) gin
  • a slice of orange

Combine the three spirits in an old fashioned glass. Add ice, the orange slice, and stir.

A day of drinking in Cardiff

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Right before flying to Italy for the holiday season, we decided to take a one-day trip to Cardiff. Capital and largest city of Wales, Cardiff is definitely one of UK’s greatest cities for eating and drinking.

In this blog post I’m going to share with you my personal highlights of the day.

The map

Cardiff is relatively small and you can just walk around and see a decent part of the city; however, as we had less than 24 hours to spend in town, we felt like we just had a small taste of what it’s capable to offer.

The whole city centre is full of independent bars and restaurants. We would have loved to try a lot of them, and we’ll definitely do it in our next visit—after all, it’s not so far from home!

We careful researched where to eat and drink without leaving our hotel’s area (St. Mary Street), and these were the places we eventually decided to visit.

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3 Reusable Water Bottles to Try

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Unless you’re visiting or you live in an area where tap water isn’t drinkable, there are several reasons why you should consider getting yourself a good reusable water bottle and forget buying plastic water bottles for good.

I can think of at least these five of the top of my head:

  1. It makes sense financially. If you live in an area where tap water is safe to drink, there’s no reason to spend money for bottled water (which, especially in big cities, can cost an inexcusably large chunk of money).
  2. As an extension to point 1—it’s not impossible to find one for free. If you attend conferences and industry events, especially during summer, reusable water bottles can be part of the swag.
  3. They’re stylish, durable, and easy to carry around—these days, most backpacks and messenger bags have a dedicated slot for water bottles on their sides.
  4. They’re better for our environment—they’re often BPA-free, but most importantly if you have one you don’t have to throw plastic water bottles away every time you’re drinking water on the go.
  5. Bottled water, in most cases, isn’t healthier or cleaner than tap water—again, assuming we’re talking about an area where it’s safe to drink.

I’ve tried three water bottles recently, and all of them came with pros and cons. Here’s a comprehensive description for each bottle.

1. Bobble 1 Litre Water Bottle, with filter

This stylish water bottle is made of three pieces: the bottle, an interchangeable and replaceable filter (available in multiple colours), and a cap.

Bobble water bottle

Bobble water bottle

It has one main strength: it filters water as you drink, meaning that you can just fill it with water (no time wasted waiting for the water to be filtered). To drink from it, simply remove the cap, lift the plastic part (you’ll likely your teeth) and squeeze the bottle. The water will pass through the filter as you drink.

It’s made in the USA from recycled plastic and is free of Phthalates and PVC. It’s not leak-proof, so don’t throw it carelessly into your backpack!

Where to find one

Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.it

2. Nalgene Outdoor Camping Water Bottle, 0.65l.

This water bottle has two pieces: the actual bottle and a cap with “One Hand” opening, with a push button and a locking system.

Nalgene water bottle

Nalgene water bottle

It’s guaranteed free from BPA and phthalates. It’s leak-proof, but doesn’t filter and doesn’t keep water cold. It has measurement markings in millilitres.

Where to find one

Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.it

3. Chilly’s Bottle

This bottle keeps your water cold or your coffee warm for hours. It’s leak-proof, and comes with a removable cap.

Chilly's water bottle

Chilly’s water bottle

It’s BPA-free, phthalate-free, toxin-free, and it’s made with a premium, food-grade 304 (18/8) stainless steel, a metal recognised for its strength and purity.

Where to find one

Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.it

Winner

To me, there’s no clear winner here—it all depends on what your needs are.

If filtering is important for you, go for the Bobble: filtering as you drink means you can just quickly fill it and you’ll still drink filtered water.

If you expect your bottle to keep water cold, the Chilly’s is perfect solution.

The Nalgene is probably my favourite, for a very practical reason: you don’t need to unscrew or remove any cap every time you need to drink, so you’ll never lose any piece while using it on the go.

A day of drinking in Vienna

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During summer 2016 I spent three weeks in Vienna, in the lead-up to an important industry event I attended. Vienna is an amazing city—classy, intimidatingly aristocratic, with a sublime architecture and a lot of great places to eat and drink.

In this Vienna drinks guide I will share with you some of my favourite bars and restaurants where to drink something special, from early in the morning to late evening.

The map

Vienna is not as big as other European capitals, but this tour still requires some form of public transportation. Luckily Vienna’s underground network works well and taxis aren’t hard to find, so if you want to try all these places in one day, it’s totally doable.
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