Bologna it is unique in Italy. Its arcades, declared heritage UNESCO, are the identity background of a city that has been able to evolve over time, while remaining authentic. The same can be said of the cocktail bars that innovate and try every day to bring something new to the market, currently one of the best five in Italy in this area. Each has its own style and more than one reason to be visited. After the Mix Contest stage at the NH Hotel De La Gare, Tuesday 19 September, here is our selection of cocktail bar to drink in Bologna.
MIX CONTEST ITALY TOUR RETURNS TO BOLOGNA
Bamboo
Under one of the characteristic porticoes, not far from the Asinelli Tower, is home to a very innovative bar: in the rooms, where the sofas stand out, and in the drinks of the bar manager Vlad Tcaci. A lot of research has been carried out on the ingredients.
On the menu there is space, as well as for signatures, also for non-alcoholic, low alcohol, off-the-line drinks and small portion cocktails. In addition to the mixed drinks, in the morning and afternoon you can enjoy the cafeteria and for lunch and dinner a varied cuisine offering, which also draws inspiration from the regional cuisine of Bologna.
Room with a view
An elegant lounge in the center of Bologna, opened in 2017 in the spaces that used to be an antique shop. Once you enter the door of this cocktail bar with (regional Bolognese) cuisine, you are enchanted by the large bar counter, the bottle rack and the chandeliers, which immediately transport you to another era.
The director Davide De Rose and the bar manager Elia Gorgolini they develop a menu that is divided into four sections: New signatures, Camera's classics, Non-alcoholic cocktails and Gin Tonics. You can also sit in the lovely outdoor area on the street.
Corner Bar
In via Saragozza, between the gate of the same name Bologna and the center. It is here that a bistro-café-cocktail bar stands, whose sole objective is to make its guests feel at home from day to night, from the public to those working in the sector. Inside, wood dominates, while outside, on the street, there is a beautiful terrace.
On the cocktail menu, curated by Tedi Dyrmishaj, a large space is occupied by the classics, even lesser-known ones. This is the case of the Barracuda, of the Corpse Reviver n. 2, the Dark'n Stormy, the Paper Plane, the Rusty Nail or the Daisy de Santiago.
Donkey
Speakeasy 2.0 is the right term to identify a place that is indeed a secret bar, but open to all, after passing through a medieval door and signing the card. The environments, a mix between liberty colonialism and 1950s minimalist modernism, are divided into different rooms, such as the Cigar Room, where you can try cigars from all over the world and drinks from Dario Banchellini in combination, and the Gulliver Room, a room with a shared table, in which to taste the most popular cocktails of the place.
The menu changes every six months and follows the seasons: to accompany drinks, tastings to share and preserved fish.
FLOR
Contemporary bistro. This is the identity of FLOR, a place that Nicolò Ribuffo opened immediately after the pandemic, in full swing center of Bologna. In the very exclusive environments, where the Instagrammable wall and the possibility of purchasing every piece of furniture stand out, you come to enjoy the bartenders' cocktails Jacob And Lorenzo.
In the signatures, the use of infusions, wines, herbal teas and flavored sodas stands out. On the menu, you can also draw from a selection of bottled cocktails, mostly classics but not only, served in very carefully crafted bottles. To accompany the drinks, you can choose appetizers, first courses, second courses à la carte or a menu with six tastings and a dessert.
Jiani's Cocktail Bar & Bistro
Eating udon and sipping cocktails. In this place on Via del Pratello, a student refuge until late at night, everything is possible.
The unusual combination of Japanese food and drink is certainly the strong point of this establishment. You can opt for the classic Spritz, but above all for the most recommended classics that have made history - from the White Lady to the Daiquiri, up to the contemporary Dark'n' Stormy - and for signature Gianni And Will be. The use of liqueurs, syrups and juices, mixed with alcoholic or personal homemade bases, such as grenadine cream, is important.
The Ways of Brigands
It was born from the idea of four young entrepreneurs. This cocktail bar with bistro, located in the center of the 'grassa', can boast an open kitchen (Emilian-Lucan-Calabrian) and a bar counter: these are essential ingredients for a proposal that combines food with cocktails Luca And Claudio.
They range from classics to signatures, with homemade products such as basil and watermelon shrub or red vermouth infused with carob. Downstairs is a speakeasy, for customers who want to go further.
Macondo
It is the first project of the members of Fly (last cocktail bar on this list). It is located in the university building Via del Pratello, a few steps from Herb Market, an area in which it stands out from many other venues for offering a mix of quality: of certainty when it comes to classics and innovation when it comes to signatures.
The proposal, entrusted to the bar manager Christian Torcasio, is made up of choices made of 3-5 ingredients, with even rather unusual combinations, see homemade rosolio – Biancosarti – pisco – salted caramel – cardamom. Of note is a rich and important selection of rums. To be paired with cocktails, however, burgers and appetizers.
Rust 
In the spaces where there was once a bicycle workshop, in Vicolo Alemagna and near the two Bolognese towers, since 2014 there has been one of the busiest cocktail bars in the city. The drinks of Davide Patta and bartender Samuele Bernardi are minimal, but not simple.
Many of the ingredients used in the drinks are produced at home, or rather in a laboratory. Vermouth and agave-based spirits are often protagonists in cocktails. Every month it is possible to taste a different draft drink. The combination of cocktails and dishes, both traditional and contemporary, is recommended.
Rush
Cocktails, wine and champagne. These are the three strong points of the bistro & cocktail bar located in via San Gervasio, a stone's throw from Herb Market.
At the imposing counter, at the internal tables and in the outdoor area, you can sit down to enjoy the bar manager's drinks Gloria Grassi, which you can choose to enjoy alone or in combination with bistro dishes, to prolong the pleasant experience.
Dark Cocktail Bar
At the end of July, in via Galliera, in the center of Bologna, there is a large gastronomic project, within which the Scuro cocktail bar is hosted, which bears the signature of Nico Salvatori. A central 18-seat social table is the only seating solution for customers. The menu is made up of about ten extremely refined drinks focused on the raw material, without considering classics and non-alcoholic ones.
An example? Bread and chocolate distillate, apricot jam and pencil lead foam. The bar manager has also developed an offer of classics, revisited, to be enjoyed at the Calmo contemporary Italian restaurant on the lower floor.
Velvet
It is quite possibly the most elegant cocktail bar on this list. Open from morning until late, with an offer of coffee, cuisine and drinks, the place Enrico Scarzella – a great trainer with his own staff of young people, as well as bartenders – and partners, immediately made an impression in the hearts of the people of Bologna.
The blended proposal lays the foundations on solid pillars, represented by a bottle full of quality products. The menu is divided into three sections: the classics, which include lesser-known names such as the Tuxedo or the Stinger, the signatures, where the use of homemade products such as a shiso and sake cordial stands out, and the gin and tonics, to which a wide selection is dedicated.
Fly
It was 1958 when Domenico Modugno sang Volare. This cocktail bar opened a few steps away is inspired by the same era Herb market in Bologna. In a room that is, to say the least, rich in historical relics, one appreciates the recipes of Giuseppe Doria and the bartender Roberto De Leonardis, who examine four ingredients per glass, including a distillate/liqueur/soda.
You can also choose a drink of the month or draw from the pop-up menus, created to celebrate the history of global mixing. Don't miss the aperitif, here a real ritual with peanuts, mortadella, olives, but also bread and hard-boiled egg.
