The panorama from the gulf of Malfa, the sea that reflects the sunset’s warm colours, the moon that peeps out through Fosse delle Felci mountain and shines on the silent bay.
And then, the garden and the Flinders roses’ scents that open up in the evening breeze; from afar the sounds of nature of the pristine Salina. Like the beginning of a novel, the Signum terrace bar enwraps the guests in fascinating suggestions and creates the ideal atmosphere to enjoy an excellent cocktail prepared by the bar manager Raffaele Caruso, perfect any time of the day.
The cocktail
To recover from this particular moment of torpidity, Raffaele Caruso suggests a classic cocktail revisited by him with the fruit of his land.
Born in the 1940s, in St. Regis Hotel bar in New York, the Bloody Mary is the quintessentially “next day” cocktail.
There is no precise recipe for this “bespoke” drink. Raffaele Caruso turn it “Aeolian” by using some typical products of Salina, such as the island’s tomatoes, the wild fennel and the Slow Food Presidium capers.
“Aeolian” Bloody Mary”
INGREDIENTS:
3 cl Vodka flavoured with Salina capers
3 cl Vodka flavoured with wild fennel
2 cl lemon juice
12 cl fresh tomatoes juice
SEASONINGS OF YOUR CHOOSING:
Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, capers salt, black pepper, celery bitter.Preparation
Crush the black pepper in the shaker with a muddler, add the vodka, the lemon juice and the fresh tomatoes juice. Season as you like, with condiments listed above. Add the ice and mix the ingredients until you reach the desired temperature and dilution. Pour into a highball glass filled with ice. Finally, garnish with a celery stick.
Raffaele Caruso
Raffaele Caruso was born in 1981 in Turin from Sicilian parents, in particular Aeolian father and mother from Nebrodi.
Turin is also the place where he was culturally formed, from school age until the bachelor’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Politecnico University. However, Salina and Ficarra were his heart places, extraordinary settings for the most beautiful summers spent with his cousins Luca and Martina Caruso and his uncles Clara and Michele, who in 1989 opened the Hotel Signum.
His first approach to the bar world was at the Signum, during the summer holidays. Back in Turin he had the opportunity to carry on his passion: first at the historical “Bibe Ron” Rhumeria, where he came to know his favourite spirits, and then thanks to a three-year experience in the management and organization of a renowned bar, the Imbarchino del Parco del Valentino.
In Turin he completed his training at Bartender with Dennis Zoppi and Lorenzo Scaglia, two pioneers of modern mixing. In 2007, at the end of the university studies, the call to the origins and the desire to be closer to the family took him back where all began: the Signum Bar. Here, as Bar Manager, he brought his professionalism and creativity at the service of guests, to make their stay even more special.
