Bar & Beats #02:
Grigio Verde
mixed by Morris Mau
Here’s Bar & Beats, where we keep things simple: good drinks, good tunes and a side of storytelling that’s (hopefully) worth your time. This round, we’re diving into something a little grittier, but still smooth, the Grigio Verde.
Picture this: early morning, a construction site somewhere in Bergamo’s hills. A crew of old-school muratori*, paid by the meter, not by the hour, are gearing up for a long day. No breakfast. Maybe a quick coffee, but firstly a shot of something to cut the chill and fire up the engines. That’s where Grigio Verde comes in: a punchy mix of white grappa and mint liqueur. The Grigio Verde is the working man’s Stinger: defiant, energizing. It’s the taste of skipping lunch to lay more bricks. It's the ritual of early mornings and hard-earned pay.
Grappa hasn’t exactly been the coolest liquor lately. Industrial production took over, mass-market bottles got rough around the edges. But if you know where to look, the real deal is still alive. Rime Craft Distillers (the grappa bianca we’re using for this drink), are one of those rare exceptions, a family-run crew who treats distillation like an art, using old-school methods and top drawer ingredients. Their Grappa Bianca isn't just good; it's legit. The kind of spirit that deserves respect.
The Recipe:
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60ml Rime Craft Distillers Grappa Bianca
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15ml Giffard Menthe Pastille (White Crème de Menthe)
Stir it gently in a glass, no frills, no garnish, just business. This is the muratori’s scaffolding-style approach… even if, at the bar, it would be diluted, chilled, and served in a nicely frosted coupe glass!
Now, let’s get to the music.
Drink up, turn it up, and salute the ones who build the world before most people even have their first coffee.
The Pairing:
Now we need a record that hits with the same raw energy, something rooted and a little wild around the edges. Enter "Nevermind the Tempo" by I Hate My Village (2024, Locomotiv Records). It's an album that feels like dirt under your fingernails with its tight, restless grooves mixed with heavy, distorted beauty. Bonus connection? Alberto Ferrari, one of the amazing musicians composing the superband, is a true Bergamasco… Same lands, same stubborn soul. Listening to this album while sipping a Grigio Verde is basically a full immersion into that gritty, proud, no-shortcuts spirit. A celebration of the ones who don’t ask for applause, they just build, play, and live harder than most.
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*Muratori: A breed of hardcore construction workers, sometimes paid by piecework rather than time, mostly hailing from Bergamo and surrounding areas. Known for their stoic attitude, relentless work ethic, and a taste for rough spirits that hit harder than a cement mixer..
Mixologist
Morris Mau, a ten-year successful bartender based in Milan. His career be began at the Dude Club in Milan and then forward to places such as the Bulgari Hotel, the Apophis Club and the Portal Club of the Deus Ex Machina brand.
Morris is a mixology's philanthropist, a romantic visionary, a refined tailor with an alcholic soul, he is the result of a blood cocktail mixed with the Caribbean's sea, Cameroon and the Naples' coast.
Today he's a bar consultant trying to rewrite the definition of hospitality by creating bespoke concepts and unique experiences for his clients.
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