“The moment we open the doors is my favourite,” says Flavio Tripepi. “That moment when you are expecting a busy night and you want to be ready for it. I find it very thrilling.” Tripepi has worked as a bartender at Zeta Bar just on a year and enjoys the variety of guests a hotel bar gets throughout the week. “On Saturday night we operate as a nightclub, so our crowd changes into a younger one. It’s nice to find a hotel bar that has a buzzy vibe and DJ sets.” For this project, he chose to cross a Bloody Mary with a New York-style Reuben sandwich. “I find a Reuben is amazing to accompany a Bloody Mary. Except for the tomato juice, I changed the classic ingredients.”
Ingredients
•45ml pastrami fat-washed Bulleit Bourbon
•10ml pickle brine
•15ml Russian dressing mix
•130ml tomato juice
•Strip of pastrami, a celery leaf and pickled vegetables to garnish
Method
Place all ingredients (except the garnish) in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir until mixed and chilled. Pour the cocktail into a wine glass filled with ice. Garnish with pastrami, celery leaf and pickled vegetables.
