Bosco in the mix for Volare
A quick chat with Gianluigi Bosco, a talentuous bartender and brand ambassador for Volare liqueurs and Antica Sambuca.
It all started behind a bar in his home town of Lecco in Italy, where Gianluigi Bosco was born in 1983.He was only 19 when his fledgling bartending career began to take shape, but just a year later, Bosco had left the familiar surroundings of Lombardy to take up a new position in the Canary Islands.
Here he worked for nearly two years in a flair bar and restaurant, creating cocktail menus for both venues – but soon he was on the move again, determined to hone his skills by moving north across Europe to Paris at the end of 2005.
Starting off in a four-star hotel on the Champs Elysées, he then moved to a mixology bar and, at the beginning of 2006, began entering flair competitions all over the world.
Since then, Bosco has taken part in more than 70 competitions in over 20 countries, including victory in August 2009 at the Flair Bartending World Championships in Berlin – at the 58th IBA meeting – when he came up against 44 top flair bartenders from all over the world.
More travelling has followed – Bosco had moved to London in 2008 to further his career assisting in bartending events and flair training, and following his victory in Berlin, he took the opportunity to move to the United States, living for almost a year in Las Vegas and working in a bar on the strip.
But now Bosco has returned home to Lecco in Italy and has taken on a new role as the brand ambassador for Volare liqueurs and Antica Sambuca. He found time in his hectic schedule for a quick chat with The Spirits Business.
Q: Gianluigi, why did you decide to become brand ambassador for Volare and Antica Sambuca?
A: I like the fact that they’re both young and dynamic brands. I like the quality, the packaging and the versatility. Volare has a very wide range that allows bartenders to create countless different cocktails, and Antica has reinvented this category with its range of flavoured sambuca.
Q: And why do you think they chose you to be their brand ambassador?
A: They were looking for a young Italian flair bartender at the time – one that was good in flair as well as in mixology – so I guess that’s why they have chosen me, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Q: How do you use the Volare and Antica Sambuca ranges? What kinds of drink are they particularly suitable for?
A: Volare has been specifically created for cocktails, and with its wide range and packaging it’s absolutely perfect for it. Antica is mostly drunk in shots, but is very good in long drinks and cocktails too.
Q: What makes them good products for bartenders in general?
A: Quality, packaging and variety of flavours.
Q: How would you describe what you do in your role as brand ambassador?
A: My role is to create a link between the products and the bartenders. We do many presentations involving bartenders all around the world, and we’re about to launch Volare In the Mix, a series of tutorials about cocktails, from classics to mixology. It’s going to be available on YouTube: www.youtube.com/VolareInTheMix
