Dazed Digital interviews the man behind the cocktail attempting to replicate the famous Chanel perfume.
Dazed Digital: What prompted you to design a cocktail which took on the fragrance of an inconic perfume?
Tony Conigliaro: I had been studing perfume and talking with perfumers and I noticed the similarities between what they did and what happens when making cocktails. It was then I came up with the concept of marring an iconic perfume and an iconic cocktail.
DD: How difficult was the process, talk us through to fruition?
Tony Conigliaro: First I had to study how that particular perfume was made and then I came up with the idea of using a sugar cube in the champagne that would carry the notes to the top of the drink. After a lot of trial and error (two years to be exact!) the no. 5 champagne cocktail was born.
DD: What do you have in mind when you create cocktails?
Tony Conigliaro: The aim was to stimulate emotion as well as creating great drink, the no.5 can remind people of a first love, a close friend, a relative.
DD: Where do your ideas come from?
Tony Conigliaro: I am a vorocious reader and at drinkfactory we research endlessly in many different fields, from perfume, food science, fashion, design and music I’m inspired in different ways.
DD: Can you dispell some cocktail myths?
Tony Conigliaro: Contrary to James Bond Martini’s should be ’stirred not shaken’ otherwise you get to much dilution and too much airation, a soggy drink instead of smooth and silky.
A lot of top perfumers smoke! There is a theory that it can suppress certain gasses and smelling can become clearer temporaraly, this is just a theory though!
DD: You developed a Matured Manhattan, can you talk us through this?
Tony Conigliaro: I had been give a bottle of vermouth from the 1920s and I tasted it a found that the taste was exquisite! It had become smoother and more blended just in the bottle, so I figured that I could do the same with cocktails, so far we have a 3yr, 2yr, 1yr and 6 months.
DD: Who do you admire in the industry?
Tony Conigliaro: Audrey Saunders, the queen of the New York bar scene for her uncompromising detication to her craft,
and having on of the most acute palette I know.
DD: Why did you decide to set up a bar? Why Angel?
Tony Conigliaro: The venue and location sold it to me, I needed to be unrestricted in terms of showcasing new drinks and ideas. I love small hard to find intimate bars such as the ones you encounter in places like Tokyo, where the is a big emphasis on service and quality. I also wanted space for drinkfactory (my other company) to evolve with a lab that focused on the experimental side.
DD: What was the inspiration for the decor/concept of the bar?
Tony Conigliaro: From 50s films to Blade Runner a kind of future retro noir film set where all the drinks are based around classic drinks giving them new spin using modern techniques.
DD: Where do you hope to take it?
Tony Conigliaro: Once the lab is in full operation we will be pushing the boundries more, not just with the drinks…!
SOURCE: Dazed Digital
in my dream world i'd be blogging from london stealing the queens wifi, wearing black chanel sequin hot pants and listening to my ipod on shuffle, my favorite dj. i suppose new york is alright for now...
