Zingy Luxardo Cocktails at Obica Soho
Luxardo hosted a really fun evening of cocktails paired with some superior Italian plates at the Obica Mozzarella Bar on Poland Street. Luxardo’s Brand ambassador “G” Franklin was mixing up some truly inventive cocktails.
Luxardo started off making their renowned Maraschino Cherry Liquer in 19C which is still being produced to the original recipe from 1821. The 6th generation of the family now make a range of Italian liquers in their base in Torreglia.
Try out this cocktail recipe, a tomato cocktail using the slowfood Piennollo tomatoes. The Obica Spritz, a mix of Luxardo Aperitivo, Piennolo tomatoes, lemon, basil and topped up with prosecco. This drink will be on Obica’s menu for August and September.
The third cocktail that G invented was the very unusual Fashionista – featuring Luxardo Sangue Morlacco Cherry Liqueur in place of sweet vermouth, Bulleit Rye, Campari and salty smoked mozzarella water.
My favourite was the last cocktail – the Venetian Christmas which is a concoction of Luxardo Sangue Morlacco, hot Americano coffee, Christmas spice and double cream.
Slowfood at Obica
Obica is just the type of restaurant I love for the kind of food they have on the menu. Besides showcasing an artisanal Slowfood product every month, they handpick some top producers from Italy and serve specialities like 18 months Culatello.
The Slow Food product for the month was Piennolo Cherry Tomatoes. Grown on volcanic soil in Mount Vesuvius National Park, they have a very distinctive sweet flavour and is only available for a very short season. On the menu were Acciughe di Cetara e Tonno and Treccina e Pomodori del Piennolo.
As Obica is a Mozzarella Bar, this is their star product. The 1KG mozzarella (Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP) was a sight to behold. Theirs is made with buffalo milk and is flown in daily from Naples.
The plates of delicious salami and cheeses were truly impressive. They had Soppressata di Gioi, Salame di Mora Romagnola, Capicollo di Azze Anca, an intense smoked mozzarella and a rare find in London, fresh Puglian Straciatella cheese ( the gooey stuff you get in the middle of burratta.) We had the most indulgent salami, a bresala with melt in the mouth lardo in the centre. On the side was possibly the most delicious caponata alla siciliana I have had. I tried to get the chef to divulge the recipe but failed.
This Torta Caprese, a chocolate and almond cake, was served with the warm coffee cocktail and we couldn’t get enough of both. Obica really is a fabulous ambassador for Italian food, bringing these stunning high quality products and served simply.
EatCookExplore was invited to review
