After nine years helming the Lima-based bar he conceived and founded, Aaron Díaz has left Carnaval to lead the drinks programme at Super Group: Hospitality & Experiences. The move is set to shake up the Lima scene as he prepares to open two new establishments, with one dedicated to Peru’s signature cocktail, the pisco sour. …
Armed with bar tools and a diploma, 36 students this August completed a six-week entry-level hospitality course in Medellín, Colombia. This wasn’t just any scheme, however – this was a social development programme and the first public-private collaboration between the alcadía (town hall) and Juniper Drinks, which aims to give young people from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to learn a trade. Known as the city…
When Minakshi Singh first got behind the stick in 2004, it was illegal for women to sell alcohol or even work behind a bar in India. But she didn’t let being Indian or female hinder her blossoming passion for the profession – today, she’s co-owner and chief executive of 50 Best Bars regular Sidecar as well as Cocktails & Dreams Speakeasy, two of India’s most…
Fabio La Pietra has long had a nose for adventure, first as a 19 year old fresh out of Puglia and straight into Notting Hill’s Montgomery Place, then – in the pursuit of love – to Brazil. The Italian bartender has headed up Sub Astor in the buzzing Brazilian metropolis of São Paulo for the past 10 years, where each night he brings the South…
Cachaça, Brazil’s favourite spirit – freshly-pressed sugarcane juice that’s fermented and distilled – is more commonly known as the base to the popular Caipirinha, but in fact Rabo de Galo is the Brazilian drink on everyone’s lips following a recent push to get it included on the International Bartenders’ Association classic cocktails list. Originally a two-ingredient concoction first created with cachaça and sweet vermouth in…
While hot weather in southern Chile sparked a wave of wildfires that devastated vineyards during the 2023 harvest season, unexpected cold snaps posed different problems for Argentinian winemakers on the other side of the Andes. It was an historic vintage in Mendoza, Argentina’s foremost wine-producing province, if for the wrong reasons. The ‘F’ word from the opposite side of the climate spectrum – frost –…
After wildfires devastated part of the agricultural industry in Chile, including razing a number of vineyards run by small grape producers in Itatá and La Araucanía in February (Drinks International, March 2023), winemakers across the country have moved forward with the 2023 grape harvest, bearing in mind these losses. Climate change is a recurring phenomenon that Viviana Navarrete, chief winemaker at Viña Leyda, believes viñas…
It’s been eight years in the making but singani has finally received its own spirits designation in the US – and Oscar-winning film director Steven Soderbergh couldn’t be more ecstatic. Previously tucked away in the ‘brandy’ section by the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB), the sought-after classification of Bolivia’s Muscat of Alexandria grape distillate means Soderbergh can now start writing the sequel…
Devastating wildfires wiped out around 1,000ha of land at the start of February in southern Chile, including many centenary vineyards and wineries, also leaving 25 people dead. Given their ferocious nature, 53 fires hadn’t been completely extinguished as of 17 February, and although the full extent of the damage isn’t yet known, it’s already being called the worst such catastrophe to hit the region. Winemakers…
Without a doubt, Peru has been South America’s leading gastronomic force for the past 15 years. A slew of establishments and their culinary leaders dominate global lists such as The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, the teams behind Central, Maido, Kjolle and Mayta are currently driving the biodiverse country forward by plating Peru’s enormous pantry of raw materials. Peru, of course, has long produced pisco. Harnessing…
