The History of Nonino Aperitifs and Cocktails

More than thirty cocktails based on Grappa Nonino are present in the book – I cocktails Ed. Rizzoli – by Luigi Veronelli, a classic for the experts of the sector. This is what. Veronelli wrote ‘the preparation of any mix must comply with a categorical imperative only good products give a good drink’ and named after the nonino women the cocktails: Giannola Keel, Cristina Keel, Antonella Cobbler and Betti Cooler based on Grappa Nonino Vuisinâr (aged in wild cherry casks).

The famous barman Salvatore ‘The Maestro’ Calabrese in his book ‘Classic After-
Dinner Drinks’ celebrates Grappa Nonino and among the recipes he proposes the cocktail
Dizzy.

In Percoto there is the first Nonino Cocktail Competition, a competition for the best cocktail with Grappa. The event, organized for the first time by the ’association of British barmen – UK Bartender Guild – and AIBES, saw about fifteen bartenders of the most prestigious London bars and bars from Triveneto to challenge with their creations based on Grappa Nonino. The winner of the competition was Gianni Albanese from the Ritz on London who reached the highest step of the podium with the cocktail Antonella based on Grappa Monovitigno® Lo Chardonnay in barriques 12 months.

At St. James in London there was the Cocktail Competition UKBG (The United Kingdom’s Bartenders Guild) 2008, first place to barman Mirko Falconi – Gritti Hotel Venice – who conquered the jury with his cocktail ‘Gritti Passion’ based on Grappa Nonino Cru Monovitigno® Fragolino.

At the Nonino Distilleries the Nonino Mixologists Challenge takes place, the protagonists are international mixologists, among whom, Patricia Richards from Las Vegas, Sam Ross from New York, Michael Ryan from Canada and national ones, like Gennaro Florio and Davide Girardi who challenged with their Shakers with recipes based on Grappa Nonino and Amaro Quintessentia® re-proposed in the iconic cocktail Paper Plane by Sam Ross.

The Noninos launch the NONINOTONIC® a fresh, thirst quenching and easy to prepare cocktail.

The Messaggero Veneto titles “NoninoTonic is born, grappa becomes also an aperitif”, the new way of drinking grappa Nonino!

The Corriere della Sera in the column free times – Amori&Sapori presents NONINOTONIC®, “the fresh and winning drink” created by Cristina, Antonella and Elisabetta Nonino. “Only recently Grappa has begun to enter mixing but Nonino, true
Italian pride, hasn’t wasted time and has re-proposed this drink, very simple but of great
satisfaction”.

*Wallpaper “The wide Nonino cocktail collection is (…) a perfect example of how a company so rooted in a tradition of purity can maintain its identity by experimenting with its products.”

Simone Caporale, award-winning bartender, at his Trieste Live Bar masterclass, chooses Pirus Nonino/Williams to create his knockout Tiki Cocktail: Tiki Pirus with triple sec, orgeat, lime and passion fruit powder.

Corriere della Sera – Davide Oldani – Dining with Grappa. The Noninos continue the evolution of Grappa – Italian Cocktail Spirit, protagonist of fantastic Cocktails, Long Drinks, and Aperitifs and in surprising pairings with food: the new frontier of Grappa Nonino.

Grappa Nonino supports P(our) non-profit bartender community organization with thirst for knowledge and an international charity project created by Alex Kratena, Simone Caporale, Monica Berg, Xavier Padovani, Jim Meehan, Joerg Meyer, Ryan Chetiyawardana, which aims to create a global community of bartenders, barmen, sommeliers, brewers, distillers and winemakers that can stimulate and reinvent the world of beverage, through new ideas, knowledge, inspiration, experiences, values. P(our) = OUR + PURE. Our community, our industry, our responsibility, Pure honest, Pure reliable, Pure uncorrupted. Sustainability, growth, knowledge are intrinsic elements of P(our)’s very identity.

#BeBraveMixGrappa Simone Caporale and Grappa Nonino together at BarItalia Hub – Rimini – for a special Nonino Italian Cocktail Spirit workshop featuring exclusive cocktails made with Grappa and FRUT® Nonino Fruit Distillate.

At Bar awards by Bargiornale – The Nonino Family in the top positions awarded as Brand Ambassador Spirits, bringing Grappa to the world of Mixology.

On the occasion of the Nonino Prize Joerg Meyer creates the cocktail Rosina Ferrario No. 203, based on Grappa Nonino Monovitigno® Moscato, and included in the ‘Brave Cocktails’ section of the cocktail list of his Bar Le Lion.

On the stage of the Nonino Prize 2019, Alex Kratena and Monica Berg [Nonino Prizewinners 2018 with P(our)] the most famous couple of Mixology create the cocktail Giannola 38 based on Grappa Monovitigno® Moscato dedicated to the Queen of Grappa, paired with a typical dish of Friulian culture, the ‘toc’ in braide’.

At the Bar&Spirit Festival, organized in Vienna by the prestigious Falstaff magazine, the Nonino family receives the ‘Special prize’ for merits achieved in the development of ‘Bar Culture’.

The Paper Plane – based on Amaro Nonino Quintessentia® – created by renowned mixologist Sam Ross, the Modern-Classic cocktail, enters the “New Era drinks” section of the International Bartender Association (IBA), selected by the New York Times to represent the category of “Equal-parts cocktails” that has made cocktail bars and enthusiasts around the world fall in love with it and which has become a “Modern-Classic so much that it has been considered as the drink that has “relaunched worldwide the use of Italian amaro” in mixing.

In the beautiful setting of La Fenice Tavern in Venice, IBA President Giorgio Fadda creates Mandi Sour. A shaken cocktail made with Grappa Monovitigno® Chardonnay in
12-month barriques, Amaro Quintessentia® and GingerSpirit.

Agostino Perrone, director of London’s Connaught, voted elected the Best Bar in the world (The World’s 50 Best Bars 2020) includes the Ginger Cuvée cocktail with Nonino GingerSpirit in the Christmas menu!

#BeBraveMixGrappa, the format devised by Antonella Nonino, continues its evolution at BCB Berlin with mixology star Joerg Meyer. Among the cocktails created there are the
Grappa Basil Smash with Grappa Nonino 43° and the Royal Malva based on ÙE® Malvasia grape distillate.

Joerg Meyer is elected ‘Bartender des Jahres’ by the Falstaff Cocktail & Wine Guide with his Bars Le Lion and Boilerman in Hamburg.

To celebrate the 45th Nonino Prize a toast with the Grappa Cocktail “Speranza” by Salvatore Calabrese with Antonia Klugmann L’argine in Vencò (Gorizia) and Uroš Fakuč DAM Restaurant (Nova Gorica) accompanied with fresh cheese from the Isonzo Valley and Mediterranean herbs to ideally build a bridge between the peoples at the center of Europe.

Simone Caporale, together with Antonella, holds the masterclass From Cinderella to Queen of Cocktails, Be Brave Mix Grappa! at Bar Convent Berlin – the main international trade fair in Europe for the bar industry dedicated to the evolution of grappa in mixology.

Monica Berg, the most influential personality in the bar industry by Drinks International 2023 UK, for the 50th anniversary of Monovitigno® Nonino, The Grappa Revolution, holds the masterclass on the versatility of Monovitigno® Nonino in cocktails, at Vinitaly.

The Noninos celebrate Fifty years since the creation of Monovitigno® Nonino, the Grappa Revolution, at the gala dinner of the World Cocktail Championship IBA 2023 (International Bartender Association) at Marriot Park Hotel in Rome. A Revolution that continues, making the versatility of Grappa more and more known in mixology. #BEBRAVEMIXGRAPPA!