Originally from Acerra (NA), born in 1989, after a brief period in the cocktail bars of Naples, Vincenzo Pagliara he moved to London to broaden his horizons and continue training in an international context. His experiences include al Montgomery Place of Notthing Hill, al Fumoir Bar of the Claridge's Hotel up to that of The Connaught Bar, at the top of the famous World's 50 Best Bar ranking. After seven years in England, he took the opportunity to move to Shanghai and take up the position of bar manager at the 5-star hotel chain Sukhotai. Having returned to Italy, it is in his homeland that he decides to invest, opening Laboratorio Folkloristico together with his friends and partners Vincenzo Monda And Francesco Manna. His favorite cocktail? Tommy's Margarita.
Francesco Manna, Vincenzo Pagliara, Vincenzo Monda
Diageo Reserve World Class Italy
May 31st Rome Bar Show, the Italian event with an international profile entirely dedicated to the beverage world, hosted the final of Diageo Reserve World Class Italy, the important competition between bartenders to spread the cocktail culture, which he saw excel Vincenzo Pagliara. A success that makes him the new king of mixology and the first Italian bartender. “World Class is THE competition for bartenders” Vincenzo Pagliara tells us “It's a complete challenge where the most diverse skills are tested, from creativity to technique to the use of raw materials. I participated to test myself and overcome my limits, only a competition of this caliber could help me do so.”
Vincenzo Pagliara (Credit: Diageo World Class Italia)
Pagliara faced many demanding challenges during the World Class journey. From the online entry for the selection of the fifty bartenders ready to compete for the title, up to the final in the auditorium of Congress Palace, where Vincenzo Pagliara triumphs after successfully passing three tests: Blind Tasting of Whiskey, Mystery Box and the adrenaline-filled Speed Round, six minutes to prepare six classics “Having had the honor of performing in front of an audience of over six hundred people at the Roma Bar Show, the key event that celebrates the Italian bartender community, was something unique and exciting. Now I'm enjoying the victory and in September I'm getting ready to fly to Sydney for the international finals of the award".
THEThe concept of the Folklore Laboratory
The concept of Folklore Laboratory is inspired by one of the works of Vittorio Imbriani, nineteenth-century politician and philosopher, entitled "XII Counts of Pomiglianesi”, twelve short stories written in archaic Neapolitan. "About that" says Vincenzo Pagliara “we collaborated with Andrea Napolitano, a local illustrator who redesigned the 12 accounts in a funky way, and whose works are exhibited inside the venue to underline our identity towards everything that for us is tradition and popular folklore”.
The local
Inaugurated in 2020 in Pomigliano d'Arco, in the province of Naples, Laboratorio Folkloristico is the result of the work and commitment of the three partners, who, since its embryonic phase, have personally taken care of the manpower necessary for the renovation of the location, in collaboration with local artisans. The restaurant covers an area of 180 m2, with 80 seats exclusively inside with the exception of a few tables outside. The warm atmosphere is reminiscent of a living room at home: “We wanted to give customers the feeling of being in a familiar place, not just trendy. From our point of view, the soul of the place is more important than the aesthetic aspect. If you have a well-defined identity, customers come back” Vincenzo Pagliara tells us.
Seats like sofas and low wooden tables with a Scandinavian feel, coffered ceiling, seven meter long counter, central fulcrum of the location, made entirely by hand: every detail contributes to transmitting a sensation of warmth, projecting the customer into a place with charm handmade, handmade to be precise. On the walls there are shelves on which the products of the local companies with which Laboratorio Folkloristico collaborates and supplies are displayed, which can be purchased by anyone interested just like in a general store. Finally, the presence of a small laboratory, a place of experimentation and creation, could not be missing.
Drink List
The XII Counts of Pomiglianesi
The XII Counts of Pomiglianesi also inspired part of the creation of the Laboratorio Folkloristico menu. The menu is divided into different sections, the first of which is composed of twelve cocktails, each of which has been assigned the name of one of the XII Counts of Imbriani. The peculiarity consists in the fact that each of these is inspired by a great classic, and will continue to be inspired by this also in subsequent drink lists. “In this sense, every customer, even if they return months later, can remember not only what they drank the previous time, but also what type of cocktail it was. We have set up real categories to facilitate dialogue between us and our customers.”
To give an example, theAuciello Grifone it is inspired by a Negroni, and in all future drink lists it will always evoke it due to the combination of the ingredients chosen and used. Or 'To Muzzella, which in the current version is made with Bulleit Rye, Cedar, Neapolitan Maple and Caper, will always basically retain its Old Fashioned soul.
One of the most interesting features of this menu? There against seasonality. “We only use products from Campania or southern Italy. Here you will never find lime, pineapple, passion fruit, mango and so on. It is a declaration of belonging to our land. We source seasonal ingredients, analyze them, try to grasp their facets and understand which combinations and combinations best enhance their flavour, and we keep them for the winter if they are summer products, for the summer if they are winter products” explains Vincenzo Pagliara. Thus, it may happen that in the middle of winter customers drink a cocktail based on seasonal watermelon, adequately preserved using the most varied techniques, which may be fermentation, re-distillation, or conservation in the form of shrub (acidulated syrups made with citrus peel, and fruit in general, juice, sugar and vinegar or distillates).
The Forgotten Fruits
The second section of the drink list comes from a beautiful story, one of those made of research, tradition and love for one's territory. Forgotten fruit is that type of fruit that is no longer on the market because those who produced it agreed to sacrifice the fruit trees for much more profitable ones. To date, there are very few companies, true custodians of these ancient and particular fruits, that own mother trees. One of these is theAgricultural nursery company Duke's Tavern Of Michele Calicchio, in Sala Consilina, in the heart of the Cilento National Park. And it is precisely Michele that Vincenzo Pagliara and his partners turn to, proposing a collaboration: allocating the fruits of at least one of the mother trees of each type of fruit to Laboratorio Folkloristico, giving them a new life in cocktails.
The current menu includes two cocktails: one based on Red Lemongella Apple and rum; the other based on Melo Ghiaccio and gin. The purpose of these cocktails is to recreate the flavour same as the fruit inside the glass.
Beeing Series
The third section of the menu is based on the concept of Fake Wines, and involves the creation of cocktails inspired by wines from local cellars and wineries. There are three low abv cocktails from 10° to 12°, one dedicated to red wine, one to white, and one to orange, recreating the perception and complexity of a wine, but without having it as an ingredient, and are served both at glass (tavern glass, low rock typical of Neapolitan taverns, very folkloristic), or in a 375 ml bottle. An example? The current red wine-inspired drink is made with Ketel One, Annurca Apple Verjus PGI, bread, Bee Pollen, Wildflower Honey & Saffron
A very interesting aspect is that in each drink there is at least one ingredient coming from a local beekeeper. The aim is to support beekeepers but above all to safeguard bees. Part of the sales proceeds from Beeing Easy Drink Series it will be used to purchase a hive for educational purposes and will be donated to a local non-profit organization.
Collab Campania Felix
The last section of the menu, to complete the declaration of belonging to the Laboratorio Folkloristico staff, is called Collab Campania Felix. “We really believe in collaboration with other cocktail bars in Campania, so every season we offer two cocktails on the menu made by two bars that try to spread the culture of drinking well in Naples and the province, and they do the same with us” says Vincenzo Pagliara. The drink made by is present in the current drink list Roots (Caserta), with Tanqueray Ten, Vermouth, Apricot Cake, Bitter & Soda, and that of Block Boutique Bar (Pozzuoli), with Mezcal, Wasabi, Pino Mugo, Rocket, Verjuice, Evo Oil & Angostura.
In short, Laboratorio Folkloristico is a place animated by many interesting projects and initiatives, thanks to the passion and curiosity of Vincenzo and his associates, where you can taste cocktails made respecting tradition and above all the raw material, treated and enhanced by art.
