Ice: The secret ingredient
It feels like you’ve stepped into a secret garden when you enter the beautiful courtyard of The Continental on Naples’ Third Street South. Trellises are lined with flowering vines, linen curtains drape from cabanas, and the alfresco bar is punctuated by hanging orbs full of spirits.
With water taking center stage this issue, we’re exploring it in the form of ice at The Continental.
“Ice is a hot topic. We use ice like chefs use fire,” says Ross Kupitz, beverage director for D’Amico.
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Alex Driehaus
Three different kinds of ice are used in cocktails at D'Amico's The Continental on 3rd Street South in Naples.
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Alex Driehaus
Three different kinds of ice are used in cocktails at D'Amico's The Continental on 3rd Street South in Naples.
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Alex Driehaus
A mint chocolate julep, photographed at D'Amico's The Continental on 3rd Street South in Naples.
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Alex Driehaus
Beverage director Ross Kupitz pours a mix for the cocktail "An Italian in NYC," a drink that includes Bulleit bourbon and Nonino Quintessentia amaro, from an orb at D'Amico's The Continental on 3rd Street South in Naples.
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Beverage director Ross Kupitz makes an experimental gin-based cocktail, which combines aspects of a "last word" and a "Martinez."
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Crab and corn fritters, photographed at D'Amico's The Continental on 3rd Street South.
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Smoked salmon flatbread, photographed at D'Amico's The Continental on 3rd Street South in Naples.
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The cocktail "Take Him to the Beach," also known as "The Jeffrey," photographed at D'Amico's The Continenta.
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Alex Driehaus
Cocktail mixes hang in orbs behind the bar at D'Amico's The Continental on 3rd Street South.
It’s important that ice for craft cocktails is clear, not like the cloudy cubes in your refrigerator, caused by both impurities and air. The Continental uses a Hoshizaki ice machine to compress air from the water as it freezes, making dense, clear cubes. Regular air-filled ice breaks apart when shaken for a cocktail, diluting the liquor, but these do not.
Then there are large ice spheres and squares, to which Bar Manager Drew Martin explains, that larger ice surfaces dilute slower.
“We don’t want to detract from the flavor of the cocktail, just add a chill,” he says.
In the popular An Italian in NYC, the cocktail is stirred with ice to chill and slightly dilute, then served over a cube. It’s made with Bulleit Bourbon and Amaro Nonino that are infused together and stored in striking glass chemistry orbs. It packs some power, with layers of flavor.
Alex Driehaus
The cocktail "An Italian in NYC," photographed at D'Amico's The Continental on 3rd Street South in Naples .
Crushed ice is ideal for high alcohol spirits like those used in Tiki drinks. When needed, bartenders fill a canvas “Lewis Bag” with Hoshizaki ice and pound it with a wooden hammer, old school.
Take for instance the Kentucky Chocolate Julep. Fresh mint is gently pressed with dark chocolate, brown sugar syrup before Buffalo Trace whiskey is added. Poured into a metal cup, it’s topped with a hand-molded ball of crushed ice and Aztec chocolate bitters creating a comforting cocktail that goes down easy.
Happy Hour offers good people watching and great prices on popular bar items, including appetizers such as crab and corn fritters and smoked salmon flatbread. The fritters have a near perfect crunch, a balanced blend of sweet and spice, and come with a delectably creamy remoulade.
The flatbread resembles an everything bagel with salty Nova yogurt serving as a base instead of cream cheese. Garnished with fresh herbs and thinly shaven radishes, it pairs well with the signature cocktail Take Him to the Beach, also known as “The Jeffery” after its creator. The refreshing drink consists of pineapple- and vanilla bean-infused Milagro Silver Tequila, lime, cucumber, mint and ginger beer, and it does indeed make you want to put your toes in the sand.
During the summer there is a series of Craftsman Dinners where bartenders really get creative. Just another one of those special touches that set The Continental’s cocktail program apart.