Research is the first ingredient of creativity. For Remy Savage, it is also where every new project begins. One of the most distinctive figures in international bartending, Savage starts not with a recipe but with a place: its history, what was once produced there and the cultural context that shaped it.
Remy Savage and a Method That Begins with Research
That method underpins the latest chapter of his career, which has brought him to Milan as Lead Mixologist at Ristorante Torre at Fondazione Prada, a position he has also held at Mi Shang Prada Rong Zhai in Shanghai. In Milan, he has created “Archivio Isarco”, Torre’s first cocktail menu, drawing on the history of its Largo Isarco address. In the early 20th century, the site was home to SIS — Società Italiana Spiriti, or Italian Spirits Company. “Torre is part of a cultural institution, in a building whose history is already rooted in production, experimentation and transformation,” Savage says. “What interested me was developing a language that belonged to this place. The history of Largo Isarco gave me an incredibly rare opportunity to do that.”
The Analysis of Context
Those who have followed Savage’s career will recognize the approach. Over the past 15 years, he has developed a highly personal vision of hospitality in which cocktails, architecture, design and the culture of a place are treated as parts of the same creative system. The Bauhaus, Art Nouveau and abstract art are less aesthetic references than tools for establishing a coherent identity.
At Torre, that method found its subject in the legacy of SIS, whose archives became the narrative backbone of “Archivio Isarco”. “The process began months before we started developing recipes,” Savage says. “I went through the archives to understand what SIS was producing at the time, how Italian drinking culture had evolved and the roles that vermouth, amari and liqueurs played over the years.” The aim was never to reconstruct the past verbatim. “Rather than recreating historic recipes, I treated the archive as a source of ideas. Every cocktail begins with a classic, but the ingredients, techniques and references come from that historical context. The result belongs to the present while acknowledging where it came from.”
Archivio Isarco by Remy Savage is Born from the Spirit of SIS
What particularly captured Savage’s attention was the experimental mindset behind SIS. “They developed formulas and were constantly looking for new solutions. In many ways, that is exactly what contemporary mixology should be doing. That m indset became more important than reproducing any particular product. The menu follows the same curiosity: respecting tradition while remaining open to reinterpretation.” “Archivio Isarco” unfolds in three chapters — Distillati, Liquori and Aperitivi — and comprises 12 cocktails built around a corresponding collection of spirits, liqueurs, vermouths and amari developed by Savage specifically for the project.
The 12 Cocktails Created by Remy Savage
“Take the Negroni in the Distillati section,” he says. “Instead of gin, we use Hound Viola, one of the spirits I developed to give the cocktail a different dimension. It changes the balance and allows the vermouth and bitter to express themselves with greater depth.” In the Liquori chapter, the “Olive Oil Sgroppino” takes the Venetian classic in a Mediterranean direction, combining Limoncino, fresh lemon, extra-virgin olive oil and traditional-method sparkling wine. “The result is fresh and elegant,” Savage says. Among the Aperitivi, the “Tequila Jungle Bird” reworks the tropical classic with Amaro della Fondazione, roasted pineapple and lime, giving the drink a distinctly gastronomic edge.
How Remy Savage Twists the Classics
Savage approaches each classic by asking a deceptively simple question: “What is the idea that makes it truly recognizable?” Once he has isolated that idea, almost everything else is negotiable. “For me, everything revolves around one clear idea. You can change the texture, ingredients, technique or even the emotional experience, as long as the drink still evokes the same memory.” The Grasshopper illustrates the point. “Traditionally, it’s a rich, creamy cocktail. Our version uses clarified vanilla yogurt and a Japanese seasoning to make it much lighter and more precise, while preserving the freshness and sense of comfort people associate with t he original.”
It is a way of thinking that extends beyond individual drinks. For Savage, the success of a project ultimately lies in its ability to add something to a place while respecting the culture already embedded within it. “At Torre, the cocktails are in conversation with the architecture, art, food and hospitality,” he says. “If guests leave feeling they have experienced a story rather than simply had a drink, then I’ve achieved what I set out to do.
The article first appeared on Coqtail – for fine drinkers. Order your copy here
Images courtesy Torre Ristorante
