Cocchi X Baglioni Review

As spring arrives, Cocchi and Baglioni Hotel London have teamed up to bring us Cocchi X Baglioni. Cocchi is one of Italy’s finest Vermouth and aperitivo producers and together with Brunello Bar they are creating an Italian twist on classic Spritz and Negroni cocktails.

We tasted four of the six cocktails currently at Brunello Bar featuring either Cocchi Rosa, Cocchi Americano and Cocchi Vermouth Di Torino.There are three Primavera Spritz cocktails and three Negroni cocktails on the menu. The La Rosa spritz features Cocchi Americano infused with rosemary and rose, fresh pomelo juice, grapefruit bitters, Mediterranean tonic and hibiscus infusion. A lovely refreshing drink I could easily have had more of them. Spritz d’Astri features Cocchi Americano infused with jasmine, kumquat and basil shrub, lemon juice and elderflower tonic. This is a zesty, foamy, bright yellow cocktail. The citrus and floral notes make them perfect spring/summer drinks.

We sampled two of the Negronis. The Piazza Alfieri features Cocchi Vermouth Di Torino, Nikki From the Barrel infused with tangerine, Campari and a citrus rim. This was a short and strong Negroni. The Duomo Negroni also features Cocchi Vermouth Di Torino with Sarpa Poli Grapa infused with lavender, Campari and Cynar foam. Grappa is intense in flavours given it is a metallic spirit but the lavender balanced it nicely. It was a busy, bitter, creamy cocktail where each layer came through with each sip.

The two cocktails we unfortunately did not sample were the Il Rosa featuring Cocchi Rosa, rhubarb and vanilla brewed tea, rhubarb butters, rhubarb and mint shrub and Prosecco, and the Adria Cocchi featuring Cocchi Vermouth Di Torino, fresh pear juice, lemon juice and others syrup.

We were also able to sample the three Cocchi products separately on ice: Cocchi Rosa, Cocchi Americano and Cocchi Vermouth Di Torino. Cocchi Rosa is Brachetto and Malvasia wines infused with wild roses, ginger, gentian, cinchona, vanilla, citrus. It derives its name from the colour of the wine base and rose notes. It comes in 50cl with 16.5% ABV. Cocchi Americano is Moscato wine infused with such items as flowers, cinchona, bitter orange peel and elder flower. The term ‘Americano’ refers to the style of drink used and means to bring the bitter in Italian, as such it is sweet and biter. It was easy drinking and delicious just with ice. It comes as 75cl with 16.5% ABV. Cocchi Vermouth Di Torino features Moscato wine, bitter sweet herbs and spices including wormwood, rhubarb and citrus. This makes it perfect for classic negronis due to its balanced flavours. It also comes as 50cl with 16% ABV.

Cocchi is named after it’s founder Giulio Cocchi, who started as a pastry chef in Florence and fell in love with Adria, the daughter of the town’s main bar owner. He was inspired to create Cocchi using local Moscato wines, herbs and spices, and since 1891 the company has gone from strength to strength winning multiple awards. Cocchi products are made using fresh, natural ingredients meaning they burst with flavours of botanicals, fruits and floral notes. It is abundantly clear when looking at the above menu that Brunello Bar supervisor Alexander Vient took his inspiration for the names and flavours of the cocktails from Cocchi’s journey, which is a lovely tribute.

RRP is £18 for Rosa and Vermouth Di Torino in Waitrose (50cl bottles) and the Americano is £22 from the Whisky Exchange etc (70cl bottles, not available in Waitrose).

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/shop/search?&searchTerm=cocchi

Cocchi X Baglioni will be running for an indefinite time at Brunello Bar Baglioni Hotel London, near Kensington Gardens. At £15 a cocktail they are on the more expensive side even for London, but the location, beautiful interior and sophistication of the cocktails makes it a lovely treat.

Details about Baglioni Hotels

Address: Brunello Bar, Baglioni Hotel London, 60 Hyde Park Gate, Kensington, London SW7 5BB

Opening hours: 11am to 1am

Website: www.baglionihotels.com

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 0207 368 5700

Twitter: @BaglioniHotels

Instagram: @BaglioniHotels

Facebook: @BaglioniHotels

Details about Cocchi

Address: Cantine Winery, Via Liprandi 21, 14023 Cocconato d’Astri, Italy

Website: www.cocchi.it