An Italian summer has its own vocabulary: a table overlooking the Ligurian coast, Amalfi lemons, the scent of fig leaves in the heat, the particular light of Sicily at sunset. At Mandarin Oriental, Milan, those familiar references have become the starting point for Estate Italiana, a four-drink menu by Bar Manager Gaetano Ascone and Guglielmo Miriello, Director of Mandarin Garden.
Available through the end of September, the collection moves from Liguria to Sicily in four stops. Three of the drinks are alcoholic; one is alcohol-free. Rather than offer literal portraits of their destinations, Ascone and Miriello work with flavor, aroma and color, using each cocktail to conjure a particular version of summer by the Mediterranean
4 Stops From Liguria to Sicily
The itinerary begins in Liguria, then heads south along the Amalfi Coast before continuing toward southern Italy and Sicily. These are places firmly embedded in the mythology of the Italian summer: cliffside villages, small piazzas facing the water, citrus groves and coastlines bleached by the sun. The cocktails borrow from that imagery without turning it into pastiche. Ingredients do most of the storytelling, whether through the perfume of basil, the savory edge of tomato water or the unmistakable aroma of fig leaves.
Golden Riviera
The Golden Riviera takes its cues from the Ligurian coast, and Portofino in particular. Ultra-premium gin establishes a citrus-driven botanical base, layered with bergamot rosolio and a cordial of peach and basil.
Champagne lengthens the drink and brings a fine effervescence, cutting through the fruit while giving the cocktail a drier, more polished finish. A fresh peach slice is the only garnish.
Amalfi Twist
For the menu’s sole alcohol-free drink, the reference point is the Amalfi Coast and, inevitably, its lemons.
The Amalfi Twist places lemon at the center of the cocktail, softening its acidity with white tea and introducing raspberry and mint cordial for fruit and a cool herbal lift. A vivid red alcohol-free aperitif supplies the final bittersweet note.
The result moves away from the sweetness that can weigh down some nonalcoholic cocktails, relying instead on acidity, tannin and bitterness to give the drink structure.
Sud Fizz
With the Sud Fizz, the journey moves farther south. Here, the defining ingredient is fig-leaf soda, chosen for the warm, almost coconut-like aroma the leaves release and for its association with the Mediterranean landscape.
Vodka provides a neutral backbone, allowing the soda to remain prominent, while fresh lime sharpens the drink. An aquamarine aperitif adds notes of lemon, rosemary, blue chamomile and sea salt — and gives the cocktail a color that deliberately recalls the waters of southern Italy.
Sunset in Sicily
The final stop is Sicily, though the Sunset in Sicily avoids the more predictable shorthand of the island. Blanco tequila provides the base, its vegetal agave character set against watermelon and tomato water. Anise adds a balsamic note, while Sichuan pepper brings a lightly numbing spice that extends the finish.
The garnish makes the visual reference explicit: three tomatoes, one yellow, one red and one green. It is a savory, slightly unexpected ending to a menu that treats the Italian summer less as a postcard than as a collection of flavors, scents and memories.
Images courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Milan
