«Baropoli is my favourite drinks list ever since we opened». So says bartender Natale Palmieri, co-founder of the cocktail bar Cinquanta – Spirito Italiano. The offering features 16 new drinks, all united by the desire to convey the spirit of market stalls, where the quality of the produce and ingredients goes hand in hand with human relationships, and where communities are formed and cultures are handed down.
Cinquanta – Spirito Italiano
Opened in 2021 in Pagani, a Southern Italian town in the province of Salerno, Cinquanta – Spirito Italiano soon became a national and international point of reference. Its eminent status is confirmed by a long series of awards, the latest being its inclusion in the list of Europe’s 10 Best Bar Teams by Tales of the Cocktail at the Spirited Awards 2024.
This success is accompanied by a new drinks list, the fourth since the bar’s inauguration. «It took several months of work and research to create this menu», says bartender Alfonso Califano, another frontman of Cinquanta along with Natale Palmieri and Antonio Fontanella (without forgetting Emanuele Monteverde and Emanuele Primavera).
Baropoli, Focused on Human Relationships
Baropoli is inspired by the idea that the marketplace is the nerve centre of the modern “polis” (i.e. a city or society characterised by a sense of community) and that the bar counter is the city’s new marketplace. Indeed, similar attention is paid to the goods on display and on sale, and there is equal importance on human relationships.
«Our starting point was the bar counter and its role in society», explains Alfonso Califano. His words are echoed by Emanuele Monteverde: «We wanted to express our own idea of community – that constant and vibrant relationship with the workers, producers and customers. It’s about welcoming and being welcomed. Hosting and being hosted».
Emanuele Primavera adds: «The bar can only exist and make sense if it’s brought to life outside the walls of the bar structure and elevated to a bar community, i.e. a bar ‘polis’, or rather Baropoli. I could tell you about the countless new techniques we’ve introduced, but what really interests us is having new stories to tell. Because those stories are our livelihood».
Baropoli, the New Drinks List
Accordingly, Baropoli’s 16 recipes start from the idea of the market, and not just Italian markets. «They’re the result of experiences and research carried out in Italy and abroad, and we’ve harnessed them for maximum customer enjoyment», says Natale Palmieri.
By way of example, the menu includes a drink inspired by the 17th-century tulip trade in the Netherlands (the cocktail is called Tulipanomania) and another one that recalls the spice market in Marrakech (Schiaccianoci, meaning “nutcracker”). Then there’s the Ryoshi House Punch cocktail, associated with Tokyo’s fish market, and the Dop Martini in honour of the trade opened up by the Suez Canal.
Then there’s the Gocciole & Negroni, which shines the spotlight on Massachusetts chocolate chip cookies, the Agave & Primizie (a tribute to New Zealand’s food sector) and lastly the Banana Underground, dedicated to second-hand and vintage markets, as well as the famous album cover of The Velvet Underground & Nico.
The new drinks list wouldn’t be complete without a selection of dishes and appetisers, put together with pharmacist and food blogger Alessandro Tipaldi, known online as Ingordo.
Images courtesy of Cinquanta
