With the arrival of Gennaro Florio as Bar Manager, the G Lounge & Garden Bar at the Nani Mocenigo Palace inaugurates a new season marked by research and excellence. After a career built among the great cafés of Bari, European capitals and some of the most prestigious Italian hotels, Florio brings with him a lucid and distinctive vision: to transform the hotel bar into a space of storytelling and belonging, where every cocktail is an expression of a territory and a conscious choice. «My philosophy starts from the classic – he explained – but with an evolution: to propose traditional cocktails, adapting them to the taste and the moment, adding a more sparkling and innovative twist».

His philosophy is based on two pillars: the valorisation of Italian products and the construction of a thematic narrative around mixology. In fact, his focus is on the selection of national spirits – Italian craft vodkas and gins – and the use of quality raw materials from small local productions with special attention to the territory. It is an approach that restores value to the act of drinking as a cultural experience linked to both geography and seasonality.

«I searched for products that represented Venice and the place where we are located – said Florio – Each cocktail is linked to the spices and botanicals that have been cultivated for centuries in the inner garden of the Nani Mocenigo Palace. In the signature cocktail list there is always an ingredient from the botanical garden of the Nani Mocenigo Palace, such as pomegranate, lemon thyme, mint and rosemary, and the name chosen evokes characters or themes from this historic dwelling…. ».

It is in the desire to personalise that the most daring feature of this new direction is to be found. In this context, the identity of the palace has inspired different types of cocktails, creating thematic categories – drinks designed to follow the different moments of the day, from the use of coffee as the main element to blends for the most demanding palates – to offer guests a sensory experience of great research for connoisseurs and all lovers of bien vivre.

The first cocktail, Elena e Giorgio, is named after a troubled love story between Elena Barbarigo, daughter of Doge Agostino and her husband Giorgio Nani, but with a happy ending achieved thanks to a palace received as dowry. This is followed by Guaranà Special, created with Altamura vodka and inspired by the painted skies of the palace, with a velvety peach mousse that recalls the lightness of clouds. The third proposal is La Bauta, a limoncello spritz enriched with lemon thyme and a few drops of Select – to maintain a link with Venetian tradition. The selection also includes Sansovino, the architect who restored the facade of the mansion, and who inspired a fresh and fragrant non-alcoholic cocktail made with green apple, ginger and lime; it is served with a large ice cube, recalling the architecture of the palace, but with a flower enclosed inside.

The G Lounge & Garden Bar at the Nani Mocenigo Palace is thus preparing to become not only a meeting place, but also a reference point for those in search of authenticity in the heart of Venice. A new grammar of taste signed by Gennaro Florio.

DRINK LIST BY GENNARO FLORIO

SIGNATURE COCKTAILS   

Elena e Giorgio (special glass) 
Gin Venice, passion fruit, Select bitter, pomegranate Juice. Keyword: “Lovestory”

Guarana special (rocks) 
Vodka Altamura, Curaçao blu, Mistra’, velvet air. Keyword: “Painting”

La Bauta (Spritz) 
Prosecco, limoncello, ginger beer, drop of Select Bitter, lemon thyme. Keyword:  “The mask”

Il Conte (by Martini) 
Whisky, honey, ST Germain, lemon&rosemary.’  Keyword: “Noble family”

Sansovino (alcohol free) 
Apple Juice, ginger, lime, lavender.  . Keyword:  “Architecture”

Wahoo ” lo Squero” (Highball) 
Vodka Sabir, Coconut, Cranberry juice, soda. Keyword:  “Gondola”

THE UNFORGETTABLE                            

Americano

Aviation 

Negroni

Old Fascioned 

Blody Mary, Martinis

Bellini 

Dry Martini (olive or twist)

NEW ERA DRINKS

 Expresso Martini

Tommy’s Margarita

Papper Plane

Penicillin 

Spicy Fifty

Breakfast Martini

Paloma