February 24, 2025

#103, Salvatore Calabrese, bar maestro, The Donovan Bar, Velvet by Salvatore (London), Igiea Terrazza (Palermo), Stravinsky (Rome), author, public speaker

1 hour 28 minutes

Few people in the cocktail world are as well known as Salvatore; you don't even have to say his surname before people begin talking about his many achievements in bartending, dating back forty years to his youth on the sun-kissed shores of the Amalfi Coast. He really is the Maestro, and it's been a privilege to call him a friend for several decades now.

From inventing the Direct Martini (while at Dukes Hotel, for guest Stanton Delaplane, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist who himself invented/popularised the Irish Coffee, depending on who you ask), to running celebrated bar programs at The Lanesborough Hotel, Salvatore at Fifty, the Playboy Club and (currently) The Donovan Bar at Browns Hotel, Velvet by Salvatore at The Corinthia London, and several projects in his native Italy.

He created modern classic cocktails including The Breakfast Martini and Spicy 50, has written many cocktail books (including one that sold a million copies), an award-winning book on cognac, and is a former President of the UK Bartending Guild.

And he's a lot of fun.

We sat down over coffee to talk about his career, what's changed, how he used to sell five-pound Mai Tais containing 17-year-old Wray & Nephew rum, his womanising bar mentor, advice he'd give a young bartender, the art of hosting and a whole lot more.

Enjoy!

Salvatore's website: https://salvatore-calabrese.co.uk/

Salvatore on IG: https://www.instagram.com/cocktailmaestro/

The Donovan Bar on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thedonovanbar/?hl=en

Velvet Bar on IG: https://www.instagram.com/velvetbysalvatorecalabrese/?hl=en

Salvatore's books: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=salvatore+calabrese&crid=2L1S4BQCUS0IP&sprefix=salvatore+calabrese%2Caps%2C82&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

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