ediblesf.com | 37 Bartending at an award-winning level is a balancing act. Just ask Carlo Splendorini, a partner behind one of San Francisco's hottest watering holes, Bar Sprezzatura. At the glamorous Venetianinspired lounge, Splendorini serves expertly crafted cocktails made from seasonal produce and premium spirits. "Balance is everything in what we do," says Splendorini, his Italian accent strong despite having lived in SF for almost 20 years. "I like flavor, high acid, high fat. You can taste when a drink has a beautiful balance." Bar Sprezzatura's menu features almost 30 libations—many with housemade ingredients like blackberry brine, clarified watermelon juice, and basil sage water. It's Splendorini's job to make sure his team has precisely the correct amount of each component, including fresh citrus juice. It's a constant calculation. If he plans to sell 90 invisible watermelon margaritas in a week, how much watermelon does he need to get from the Ferry Building farmers market, and how does the cost of that watermelon affect the price of the drink? "The most important thing that a bartender should know nowadays is the costs," says Splendorini. "Yes, you need to know how to make a cocktail. You can learn that, but as far as getting a healthy bar, the bartender needs to know the bar's profits and losses." One way Splendorini stays on top of rising costs ("Lime juice is insane! It's about 70 cents an ounce now.") is by minimizing waste. He compares a lemon to a whole hog, explaining how he uses every part. "You juice the pulp, then you use the peel for a martini garnish. Each lemon gives you eight peels for a martini. Then, with the rest of your leftover lemon strips, I use them for limoncello." He applies the same philosophy to each type of citrus—Valencia orange, lime, ruby red grapefruit, and blood oranges are juiced, peeled, infused, and clarified. "We can do cello with anything, as long as there is a citrus and alcohol content, and the sugar content." He never pours spirits down the drain. "A little bit of a bottle will be on the shelf that nobody wants, and you're never going to sell," he says. "So we get a small 10-liter barrel that I infuse with vanilla beans, and every little ounce, two ounces, half an ounce of amaro, anything, it all goes in the barrel. Then in three months, it's a beautiful digestif." Splendorini doesn't want the average bar goer to know about this busywork. There's a showmanship quality to mixology, and he's the ultimate magician. While the bells and whistles are humming behind the scenes, Splendorini is all smiles and charming to customers. "I offer a glass of bubbles to everybody who comes to Sprezzatura. I say, 'Hello, my name is Carlo, let me know what I can do for you,' 500 times a day." Generosity is at the heart of his hospitality game, and cocktails are the key to the community he creates. "From the moment the guest comes until they leave, our job is to make a better day for them." Bar Sprezzatura's ornate approach to using everything Writer—Katie Sweeney Photographer—Galdones Photography/Cultivate Hospitality BAROQUE MINIMALISM “Balance is everything in what we do. I like flavor, high acid, high fat. You can taste when a drink has a beautiful balance.” Dirty Negroni Ingredients: 1 oz Gunpowder Gin 1 oz Cocchi Antica Torino 1 oz Contratto Bitter 1 oz Wild Strawberry Brine Instructions: Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Stir for 15 seconds. Strain into a Nick and Nora glass. Garnish with a wild strawberry that has been stuffed with Greek yogurt and a mint leaf. To make a large batch of the cocktail, increase the amounts and combine. Wild Strawberry Brine Ingredients: 500 grams fresh ripe wild strawberries, cut in half 250 grams honey 250 ml rose vinegar 20 grams pink peppercorns, crushed 2 cinnamon sticks 1 vanilla bean Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a sealed jar and refrigerate for 24 hours. Strain, discarding the solids and reserving the liquid brine. 1 Bar Sprezzatura's opulent interior 2 The talented Carlo Splendorini 3 Carlo's Dirty Negroni 4 A stacked bar
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