Two places, two souls, two people, the same brand: Drinc, with a “c”. High quality mixology venue in Milan opened in via Plinio, at number 32, in 2016 (drinc.cocktail&conversation) and then doubled in size in the nearby via Francesco Hayez, at number 13, five minutes on foot or even less, with drinc.different. Behind the two venues are Luca Marcellin, one of the most awarded Italian bartenders, and his partner Desiree Brunet; the first is easier to find in the first room and the second in the second, but the roles here are not fixed, it is played across the board.
Let’s start with drinc.cocktail&conversation, a small place with a great atmosphere, which in my opinion a few years ago made the best gin and tonic in the city and which now probably continues to do so (I don’t know, I haven’t tried it) but boasts a deep menu and rich that deserves to be explored, leaving the classics aside for once (even if a great bar must know how to do them impeccably). There are 26 seats, the bottle shop has around 750 labels, the musical background is based on funky jazz that is never intrusive, because the sign promises chatter and must deliver. The menu offers a slew of classics revisited with imagination but without the need to amaze at all costs: I really appreciated the Tokyo Drift, which is a triangulation between different flavours, smoking, spiciness and spiciness, which find a superior balance. A very elegant drink. Then I tasted the Avocado Negroni, which uses a homemade distillate with avocado oil, Cocchi Storico, Campari, chocolate bitters, orange and mandarin instead of gin, which respects the style of the Negroni making it a little fatter and oilier. So also the Trentatré Mexicani, the most surprising of the three, with the touch of apple pie liqueur (and then Espolon Bianco Tequila, smoked bbq vodka, agave, lime and hazelnut bitters and grapefruit soda) which gives it a timeless class . Very thirst quenching. There are approximately 25 cocktails on the menu (the menu lasts for a year, the current one will last until next spring) among which I like to point out the Curry Colada, the All Blacks which plays on New Zealand suggestions combined with mountain hints, and the courageous Dal Lurido, which is reminiscent of the “dirty” sandwich from the stall, complete with evocation of sauerkraut (“not everyone likes it, but those who like it love it”, Marcellin tells me). There are also some “off the menu”, while every month there is a more “spicy” drink that comes from drink.lab: currently Not a Real Hot Dog, with vodka, “secret” hot dog sauce and smoked essence. Another sandwich in liquid form. From 6pm to 9pm aperitif formula, which for two euros more than the cost of the cocktail guarantees accompaniment with small good quality snacks. Marcellin would like to implement the food part, which is strategic at the moment in contemporary mixology, but the spaces are what they are and therefore ideas will be needed. The ones Marcellin is looking for to transform the place in via Plinio, which is already one of the best bars in Milan, into the best ever.
Then I moved to via Hayez. Here the place has recently undergone an expansion born from the opportunity for Luca and Desiree to take over the nearby premises of a hairdresser who was tired of working, and drinc.different has gained in space and ambitions, additionally covered, a laboratory that serves both rooms where the staff alternates because everyone must know how to do everything, a room communicating with the laboratory itself, a sort of private room for private events that can be booked to enjoy experiences that Luca and Desiree are developing. The menu has the same layout as via Plinio but different cocktails. For me the Old Aspalathus which is an “old fashioned” to which Wild Turkey Bourbon and rooibos (an African tea) give toasted and hazelnut notes. Then the Mastichios, a sort of smokier Negroni, with mastiha, Campari, fig, mezcal and beetroot, which “stamps” the drink. Also on the menu are the savory Rumami, the spicy and herbaceous Mrs Pickford and the Bolethus to which the porcini mushroom gives an umami boost. Here too there are the aperitif formula, the lab proposals and the Not a Real Hot Dog. The atmosphere is a little more vibrant and the feminine touch brought by Desiree is felt. For a romantic evening I would go to via Plinio, to meet people in via Hayez.
In both places there are also non-alcoholic drinks.
Note regarding the prices: the classics cost 10 euros, the signatures from 12 to 15 euros. You only go up for some special gin and tonic.
Marco Colagnelo, Sofia Santo and Amir Hindawi also work in via Plinio, while Alessandro Buggini, Simone Rancati and Eduardo Zanatta work in via Hayez.