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Cocktail stories: Pesto Martini, Moebius Milano

Step aside, olives – Moebius Milano proves that pesto is a Martini’s perfect partner.

P94 Pesto Martini Moebius Milano

Giovanni Allario, the head bartender at Moebius Milano.*This feature was originally published in the July 2024 issue of The Spirits Business magazine.

“Everyone knows a Martini, and pesto is an ingredient loved worldwide,” says Giovanni Allario, the head bartender at Moebius Milano.

A Pesto Martini isn’t completely unimaginable, but it’s certainly a fresh take on the classic. “It’s an entry point into Martinis for people who aren’t used to drinking Martinis, but it’s also a good way for people who enjoy Martinis to get out of the usual recipe,” he explains.

Situated in a renovated textile workshop in Milan, Moebius houses a bistro, an experimental fine-dining restaurant, and a cocktail bar, where the bar staff create drinks that pay homage to Italian culture and produce.

The idea for the Pesto Martini came before a guest shift at Miami’s The Schmucks pop-up bar. Allario recalls that he wanted to make something fun and catchy, but also make people think about Italy beyond tomatoes – the other savoury Italian ingredient that’s become a mainstay of cocktails. Allario is from Genoa – the birthplace of pesto – so the drink also represents his background. He wanted to put pesto into a form that would be appealing to consumers in the US, so the Martini, AKA “the king of cocktails”, made sense. “You don’t really want to drink pesto, as it’s a thick sauce right?”, he says. “So the idea was: ‘How can we make that palatable, but also beautiful and delicious?’”

Allario says he settled for vodka as the base because “there are already a lot of flavours in pesto. It’s flavourful and very rich – using gin with the balsamic side, with the bitter part of the juniper, would be a bit too much”.

He fat-washes Altamura Vodka with a homemade pesto – “an old recipe of the household”. The pesto is made without salt, as there’s already salt in the cheese and fat from the pine nuts, and also without garlic because no one wants to drink garlic.

Allario says: “You have this beautiful vodka that tastes a lot like pesto, then you build it up with dry vermouth and bianco vermouth, some acidity from white balsamic vinegar – just a few drops give a little more structure and freshness – and some saline solution to balance out the salt from the pesto. Once the fat-wash process is complete, the mixture is infused with fresh basil leaves, which add a freshness that offsets the richness of the pesto.”

The drink is served with a side of freshly grated Parmigiano, which guests can add for saltiness, and to complement the flavours. “Almost as you do when you eat a plate of pasta,” he says.


Pesto Martini

For 100g pesto
30g Italian basil
30g Pine nuts
15g Pecorino
20g Parmigiano
200g-250g Extra-virgin olive oil

Method
Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Pesto-infused vodka
0.7l Vodka
50g Pesto

Method
Add the ingredients in a sealed container, let infuse for three to four hours at room temperature then store in the freezer overnight. Filter through a fine mesh and through a coffee filter later.

Pesto Martini Batch
70ml Pesto vodka
10ml Dolin Dry vermouth
5ml Dolin Blanc vermouth
2 dashes Salt solution (one-part salt:
10 parts water)
0.4ml White balsamic vinegar
30ml Filtered water

Method
Add to a container and store in the freezer overnight with 1g fresh basil.

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