If in the small (big) world of Italian mixology, it is named «BenjaminAnd here you automatically enter the “good living room”: as a counter colleague or as a simple enthusiast. The most interesting aspect is that behind the Anglophone nick and a (impeccable) look of a 19th century gentleman there is a 29 year old from Lumezzane, with a Brescia surname and still marked inflection: his name Fabio Cavagna and is simply the bar manager of 1930, the ‘secret cocktail bar’ in Milan that arrived at the 25th place in The World’s Best Bars, the world ranking of clubs. Clearly the best in Italy. He succeeded in just six years, it seems incredible. In fact, it came thanks to a mix of talent and commitment, with just the right bit of luck. “I dreamed of being a professional footballer and I reached good levels in the youth teams. Meanwhile, I understood how much I liked life as a bar, and at the same time I was bored being a customer: the only solution was to get behind the counter to be a barman He explains.
He started drying glasses in pubs and country breweries, to “invent” the first cocktails. After three seasons, the jump to Milan in 2011 with the excuse of the University. “Two years later, I met Flavio Angiolillo and Marco Russo: extraordinary people who have created a small empire of good drinking in Milan. They had faith and in the winter of 2014 they entrusted me with the 1930“. An explanation is urgent for non-experts: it is a full-blown secret bar, so much so that to access it you must have a card to be requested from the Mag Café or Mag Pusterla, of the same group of which Cavagna is one of the six partners: but it is at the discretion to grant it or not. If so, the exact address is also communicated which is not officially known but seems to be in the Piazza V Giornate area. «Once you cross the threshold you enter a place that makes you forget you are in Milan: experimentation is carried out but we also serve gin and tonic, beer and whiskey which is a passion of mine. The important thing is to relax and spend peaceful hours: the guests are mostly friends, they have been around for a long time and are cut out for the speakeasy life »he underlines.
We asked Cavagna to create five exclusive cocktails for Vanity Food readers: two related to Christmas, two to New Year’s Eve and one non-alcoholic as the trend dictates. They are simple to make – the doses are for a single glass – as they can be traced back to the ‘build’ technique, i.e. with the elements poured directly into the appropriate glass and mixed delicately. And the ingredients are available in the best supermarkets (or if it goes to a wine shop) but also can be purchased through e-commerce. A nice gift from Benjamin. By the way why this curious nickname? «All the guys in our group have a nickname decided by Angiolillo. After a month of work, he looked at me smiling and said “How can you be 22? You are Benjamin Button, that of the film with the man born already old ”. I liked it immediately: I hope like him to rejuvenate with the passage of time… ».
The cocktails in the gallery above
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
