N. 18 | DECEMBER 2018 SUPPLEMENT OF BARTALES FACE TO FACE / RON CUBANO LIQUID STORY / STOCK LIGHT SPIRIT LIONELLO’S VISION HOT SPIRIT/ KILCHOMAN FROM BARLEY TO BOTTLE LIQUID STORY / LICOR BEIRÃO PASSION AND ANCIENT SECRETS ZOOM / CHERRY HEERING BICENTENARY HOW TO FEEL / BASIC TECHNIQUES IAN BURRELL THE ART OF PRESERVING IS A LIVING LEGEND BAR EDITORIAL by Melania Guida TALES A BRILLIANT FRIEND ow remarkable is Lionello’s story! One of the few that perfectlycombines ad- venture, intuition and luck – the story of a truly brilliant idea. It was 1884 and that young man from Dalmatia, second son of Abraham Stock, thanks to true ingenuity, was about to lay the foundations of what would become a solid Hfuture, together with a friend of the same age, Carlo Camis. The story you’ll read (on page 8) is also and above all a story of friendship that went from selling umbrellas and headgear to opening of a small steam distillery in the district of Barcola, the historic heart of wonderful Trieste. Then pure chance became good fortune. It came in the name of downy mildew: a parasite that was destroying half the vines in Europe, especially in the Charenteregion of the mythical Cognac, forcing France to import wine from Dalmatia. So why not then distil the wine directly in Trieste? Faithful to the Hegelian philosophy that states “we must always be on the move, even if things happen neither as we believe, nor as we fear, nor as we hope”, Lionello convinced Carlo. They started by tightening the belt. Several times Lionellohad to place his watch as surety to pay the workers, but the distillate, aged in the barrels of Slavonian oak, was enjoyed by many, so much so that it was called “Medicinal”; and it claimed its place in the internal markets of the Empire. The rest is the story of “Stock”, a brand that thanks tovacillating and extraordinary events, marked the destiny of an all-Italian excellence. Follow us N. 18 | DECEMBER 2018 EXECUTIVE EDITOR DIGITAL EDITION BY Melania Guida SKILL LAB srl ([email protected]) ([email protected]) STAFF EDITOR Fabio Bacchi Registrazione. n. 35 del 8/7/2013 Tribunale di Napoli ([email protected]) www.bartales.it ART DIRECTOR Cinzia Marotta © copyright BARTALES - All rights reserved. No part of this ([email protected]) publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means. Any violation will be persecuted according to law. CONTRIBUTOR Alessandro Palanca, Giovanni Ceccarelli, Anyone with a claim on the copyright of unidentified Hayden Wood pictures please contact Bartales TRANSLATION BY LMP International - Lonato (BS) Italy DRINK RESPONSIBLY December 2018 3 face to face RON CUBANO LIGHT SPIRIT César Martì and an old art form that tastes of Cuba BY MELANIA GUIDA ad he been born elsewhere, I meet Martí's dark and deep gaze on somewhere just a little farther a very hot afternoon. He has just arrived away from the strong smell of in Rome, the last leg of an Italian master sugar cane fields, César Augusto class tour. He would like to talk about HMartí might not have become what he is Italy, which he is very fond of. He would today: the youngest master ronero (rum like to talk about history, because he has master blender) on the island. Master of had a passion for Italian history since he the Cuban Ron, crowned at just 32 years was a boy. Time is running out and one of age. hour before the class is due to start, a 4 December 2018 crowd of bartenders has already filled all small still at home. “He fermented from the available seats in the Flair Bartender’s molasses and managed to obtain a sim- School. ple yet very fragrant product that he would Martí is a chemical engineer. After gradually seal in small wooden barrels.” graduating, he faced a long internship in But above all, his grandfather worked at the Central Ronera under the guidance of Carlos Baliño, the old sugar mill a few ki- a ronero “who teaches you everything”. lometres from the town of Santo Domingo, What is the difference between a simple near Santa Clara. One day he asked his ronero and a master of Cuban Ron? “A grandson to accompany him to the factory ronero blends, while a “Cuban” follows and César found himself getting to know the whole production process, right up to the secrets of the trade even before he the molasses, and fermentation,” he says had learned the alphabet properly. with pride. You have to be Cuban to understand Studying is not enough. You have to the deep meaning of sugar cane, to fully be cut out for the job. It takes a certain understand the meaning of guarapo (the predisposition, let’s call it a vocation as cane liquor), to understand that both con- well and according to Martí, who is now cepts are strictly tied to history, tradition 42 years old, it may also be destiny. It all and Cuban identity. I know that Cuban Ron started with his grandfather, who had a is a strong, visceral, unavoidable trait of December 2018 5 Grande, in the province of Villa Clara, in what was considered the first major distill- ery in America and historically known as the largest sugar cane molasses still in the world. “In those distilleries liqueurs, spirits and rums were prepared that have given prestige to the region,” continues Martí, “because it is in Santiago de Cuba that “light rum” was born, a Ron protect- ed by a strict disciplinary, best expressed today by Ron Cubay”. Which means? “No chemistry, no additives, no dyes”. I taste a sip of “Anejo 10 year Premi- the culture of that people. In short, it is as um”: the aroma of molasses that envel- if it were a sequence within their DNA. “A ops the palate is surprising, sweet, and special friend,” Martí adds, “who always with an unmistakable taste of oak and accompanies you in moments of happi- vanilla. “Perfect with a cigar (and this is ness”. not a stereotype) to enhance the culture Cuba is the “cradle of Light Rum” since and the authentic taste of the island”. the start of the nineteenth century. It is in I cannot help but think of the cantiner- the central region of the island, in Santia- os, the first bartender association in the go de Cuba, to be precise, that on 4 Febru- world that with their Cuban blend became ary 1862 the first dis- protagonists of one of the brightest peri- tillery producing Ron ods of drinking culture. The San Lino Ligero was founded. How important is bartending for Cuban distillery So it was that at the Ron today? “Quite. Especially considering is known island’s oldest fac- the last 10-15 years. The cantineros as- tory, production of sociation continues to set trends. In addi- for the largest a pleasant, delicate tion, we are currently experiencing strong sugar cane and refined rum be- demand in the mixing segment for Cuban gan. “It is thanks to aguardiente. A clearly positive sign, even molasses still the Maestros Roner- though there is still a lot of work to be in the world os of Santiago de Cu- done.” ba who, after years of Does Ron tourism exist in Cuba or hard work, managed could it in future? “Actually, there is al- to give that aguardiente de caña (cane ready a project called “Rota del Ron”. It brandy) a more delicate taste”. How so? is possible that next year, perhaps in the “By using a column distillation system and beginning of 2019, it might already be a white oak barrels to age the distillate.” reality”. Can we even picture the itinerary? That same year the San Lino distill- “Sure. From the cathedral of Santiago to ery was born, in the today’s province of Villa Clara, then on to Havana.” We count Cienfuegos, and in 1870, the Inferno on it. still. It was founded in 1870 in Sagua la Melania Guida 6 December 2018 poster limoncello 48x66 6-12-2011 14:36 Pagina 1 Ristampa da Archivio Pallini Ristampa da Archivio DRINK RESPONSIBLY liquid story STOCK LIONELLO’S VISION The unique story of Trieste’s brandy BY ALESSANDRO PALANCA arcola is a district of Trieste also gives its name to the most crowded which can be reached by taking Mediterranean regatta, the “Barcolana” the coastal scenic route. In this which has been held every second Sunday area, in the mid-1800s, the noble in October since 1969. Bhouses of the city were found. Many are At number 2 Via del Boveto is the Tlus- still visible along Miramare avenue, such tos garage. Nothing exceptional, if not for as Casa Jakic, known among the locals the fact that in that building on 26 De- as the “house of onions”. cember 1884 one of the most beautiful Barcola is Trieste's business card and stories of the spirit industry began, the story of Stock. A Dalmatian from Split, Lionello Stock, at the time was only 18 years old and had a great entrepreneurial spirit. On an ordinary day, while walking along the banks of Trieste, boats being loaded with barrels of wine attracted Li- onello’s attention. He found out that it was wine directed to La Rochelle, port of Charente, a French wine region struck by the scourge of downy mildew that had negatively affected wine and brandy pro- duction. The young Lionello had a vision and thought that if Italian wines were good enough for French producers, they could be distilled in Italy too.