“The Paloma is a cocktail that is very popular here!” Start like this Max Caruso, Bar Manager of 22 Lounge Bars, in telling us about the elegant venue located on the Catania port of Ognina.
In this mixology boutique two types of cocktails are offered: signature and twist on classic: the first ones are creative drinks, the fruit of the minds of bartenders, while the latter are, instead, interpretation of classic cocktails.
Among these there is precisely the Paloma: “We needed to create an alternative to this cocktail of Mexican origin, to give our customers one more reason to come back to us. This is how the Paloma's Way. The tequila is enriched with the scent of basil, the pink grapefruit soda is replaced by a homemade cordial, and the cocktail is enriched with a spicy note, composed of the Agave Spicy Mix: chili pepper liqueur, agave and Tabasco”.
The ingredients and the recipe of the Paloma's Way:
- Tequila
- Basil
- Pink grapefruit
- Sugar
- Agave Spicy Mix (chili liqueur, agave and tabasco)
- Salt
- Chopped dried basil
Infuse the tequila with the basil at low temperature for about 2 hours. Extract the juice from the pink grapefruit. Extract the oleo saccharum from the pink grapefruit peel, combining it in a container with the sugar and letting it rest, at low temperature, for 24 hours. Combine the oleo saccharum with the pink grapefruit juice to obtain a cordial. Boil the cordial. In a tall tumbler, combine the soda-hardened cordial, the basil-infused tequila and the Agave Spicy Mix. Mix with a bar spoon. Prepare a crust with salt and chopped dried basil.
Massimo Caruso
Born in 1991 in Catania, Massimo Caruso has been working in the restaurant business since he was young. First a waiter, he faces a counter, that of bartender, which he will never leave again. After some experience in Catania clubs, in 2012 he follows some professional courses, after which he will work for two seasons in the city's lounge bars. The adventure at 22 Lounge Bar began in 2014 which, since 2017, has seen him as the protagonist as bar manager, later also of the cocktail bar of the same property Super. In 2022 the greatest recognition, the victory of the Mix Contest Italy Tour with the 22 Lounge Bar.