Elevating the Cocktail Culture at Drink Kong in Rome, Italy

Posted by Rowena Dumlao Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 11/23/2018

Elevating the Cocktail Culture at Drink Kong in Rome, Italy

When the sun goes down and the dark skies sway in, cocktail drinks aflow in a dystopian futuristic setting. Influenced by the 1980s neo-noir science fiction film, Blade Runner, the 300 square meter place takes you to a labyrinth of smoky alleys of an oriental metropolis splashed with neon signs and arcades. A melange of eras from the characteristic minimalist Japanese, the loud chaos of New York and the innovative modern London style. Four distinct rooms with subdued lights, reddish glare, velvet chairs, live music and a splendid lighted bar overflowing with rows of liquors and glasses, that's how Drink Kong is to its visitor's eyes.

Drink Kong is the newest cocktail bar in Rome of Patrick Pistolese, one of the best bartenders in Rome who has garnered adulation in the mixology world from the young age of nineteen both in Italy and internationally. Gaining his long experience and knowledge in the Roman and international bar scenes from the first Italian gin bar, The Gin Corner to Caffè Propaganda and winning international mixology competitions, he is finally behind a bar that encapsulates his style and ingenuity. Along with Patrick behind the counter, his team is composed of Livio Morena, functioning as the head bartender and Riccardo Palleschi and Davide Diaferia.

The main goal of Drink Kong is to encourage their customers to use their instincts. In an idiosyncratic approach, the entries at the menu are categorized by colors with regards to their strength. Being a relaxing color, the drinks at the aquamarine side are light while the fiery red color connotes power. With only the distillate indicated in every drink, the rest of the ingredients are not specified in the menu, just a description of the tastes and aromas, as opposed to all the drink lists in other places. In this way, the customers are stimulated to use their gusto-olfactory senses to better enjoy their drinks.

On the food front, the style is that of a tapas bar with the dishes created by Chef Marco Morello, well-known for his Food Box in the Mercato del Testaccio. A selection of tapas from around the world are the proposals in the menu with reasonable prices of €4 to €6: bao and dumplings from the Orient, Scandinavian smorrebrods, English scones and a selection of prosciutto and cheese from local regional producers.