NAt Cocktail House, Turin cocktail bar since 2016, has recently inaugurated its new drink list, NATArt, interesting as well as atypical due to the great originality with which it was conceived. The result of the creative thinking and commitment of a young team animated by a strong passion for their work, the people who are part of it reflect the emerging generation that is contributing to making Turin an even more lively and competitive city from the point of view of all-round hospitality and mixology sector.
NAt Cocktail House
It was 2016 when the NAt Cocktail House opened its doors to the public under the guidance of Emanuele Russo And Patrick Piazza. Over the years, the place has evolved, becoming one of the points of reference in the heart of Turin's nightlife, thanks to research into everything related to merchandise, mixing and raw materials. He soon conquered two segments of customers: the one made up of young people, ideal for its street bar soul on Piazza Vittorio, and that range of spirits enthusiasts who go there specifically to taste, for example, a good smooth whisky. One of Nat's strengths lies in the ability to reconcile the refinement with which the drink lists are elaborated and constructed with the important flow of people who pass through the venue every day, especially on weekends. A challenge, that of combining the quality of the drinks with a quick, street bar service, which has now been largely won. With the drink list released this year, the NAt Cocktail House demonstrates how much it is still destined to grow and establish itself in the panorama of Turin mixogy.
The team
Michael Faccenda, born in '95, has been part of the NAt family since its opening. He learned the art of mixing from Patrick Piazza and Emanuele Russo, bartenders and consultants of the NAt Cocktail House, and thanks to whom, over the years, he has developed and refined his personal mixing style.
Sonny Benedetti, born in '97, was born in Lucca where he gained his first experiences in the world of hospitality, before moving towards new, more stimulating shores. In Milan, during a bartending course he came into contact with Emanuele Russo, who proposed that he join the NAt team. Thus begins what he calls a beautiful adventure in the city of Mole.
Simone Minniti, born in '91, after having worked in a completely different sector, for three years he has been juggling behind the counter thanks to the love and fascination he has always had for the world of bars. Today it is part of the NAt family and collaborates with Caribbean Company.
Viola Frontera, born in '95, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Turin, is the one who designed and created the graphic design of the drink list, in collaboration with the rest of the team. At NAt he works within the dining room team, but with an eye towards everything that happens behind the counter.
The drink list
Palindrome: this is the key word on which the eclectic drink list of the NAt Cocktail House was built. Sticking to the definition given by the Treccani dictionary, the palindrome it is a sequence of letters or syllables that can also be read in a retrograde sense, resulting in either the starting sequence or a'another sequence also making sense.
The first phase of the creative process was to construct meaningful sentences that were, in fact, palindromes. For example? It's charcoal, not embers, or It was there'I hate then pain. Strongly evocative and poetic, the phrases become the starting point for the creation of the eleven cocktails inspired by them. “Usually the cocktail is created first, and then given a name. Our creative process, however, developed in the opposite way. We let the phrases we created guide us, ingredient after ingredient, in the finalization of each of the eleven drinks that make up this menu" the NAt guys say.
The graphics
A further and interesting aspect of this drink list is everything concerning the graphic part associated with it. In fact, each cocktail is represented by a symmetrical illustration (recalling the typical symmetry of the palindrome figure), which Viola Frontera created by communicating with the rest of the team throughout the cocktail creation process. “To create the storytelling of my works I was inspired by the ingredients, their origin, suggestions linked to them and the colours. I wanted each design to tell a story, to project the customer into the world'within a visual, imaginative narrative and helped bring them closer to the ingredients and the drink in its entirety".
In short, behind each illustration (which can be purchased in FAC-SIMILE form inside the venue) there has been long and passionate research into the ingredients of the cocktails, which enriches the customer experience in a multidimensional experience.
Mixing
The process of creating the cocktails, as already mentioned, had as its starting point the palindrome phrases that gave their names to the eleven proposals on the drink list. For example, in Coal no embers the ingredients had to recall a woody and smoky scent, given precisely by the Russian birch sap and the Russian caravan tea. In the case of In Milan not in Lima, is the presence of Pisco (a Peruvian brandy) and pear prosecco the link, the connection between the name of the cocktail and the ingredients.
“We place a lot of care and attention on the raw material. L'Italy is a country rich in high quality ingredients, each region has its own fruit, vegetables and spices. We have tried to enhance local ingredients and products, combining all'Italianity, the exotic part that we don't have, given to us by passion fruit, ginger, curry..." says the NAt team.
A very important focus of the drink list is also represented by the preparations, always starting from the raw material. For example, the Apple wine featured in Sub and Rebus it is made starting from a base of partially fermented must into which the apple is infused using the blender. Or the banana smoothie inside Wooden Angels, to which tarragon has been added to give it that "electric" note, that final tingling sensation that is felt on the tip of the tongue.
A good search was also done for the three non-alcoholic drinks on the drink list. In particular, for the cocktail All'a nothing the no waste reality was combined with the no alcohol one. To a base of Seedlip hay and peas, a completely non-alcoholic distillate, a reduction of wine that would have been wasted the next day was added, a reduction with which the alcoholic part was eliminated, retaining only the citrus and natural notes. Yerba Mate was infused into the wine reduction, and as a final touch Crodino was added, the symbol par excellence of the Italian sports bar. All served inside the Crodino bottle itself, giving it a new life with an ad hoc label.
NATArt it is a 360° experience, starting from the name of the drink up to the final drink. It is a multisensory journey, the focus of which can be summarized in less is more: clean presentations, without too much garnish to distract attention from those who are the real protagonists: the cocktails.
