Bartenders do a lot of good. They wear a smile, they care, and anticipate to bring joy to your face.
However we have a dark secret: behind the bar counter, a lot gets tossed.
Under the guise of quality and the best offer, freshly squeezed lemon juice, made from ingredients that might've clocked more air miles than your last vacation, often ends up in the bin. In a world facing crises that sound like the apocalypse's greatest hits—climate change, water shortages, food struggles, and social dramas—this wasteful bartender ballet becomes a real head-scratcher. And it's not just lemons taking the plunge; it's all the juicy suspects – fruit juices, melting ice cubes, sparkly wines, syrups, and even peeled fruit that never quite makes it to stardom.Enter scarto, born from the grand question: "Do we really need to toss all this stuff?" Or, in simpler terms: Can you craft killer cocktails without treating the planet like a never-ending happy hour?The resolute answer is no, and that, my friends, is how scarto entered the scene, cocktail shaker in hand, ready to party sans the waste.
the proof of concept
Picture this: after scribbling down a cocktail novel (hundreds of pages, to be precise) and making some life-altering decisions, scarto cocktails opened its doors to the public on April 1st 2018 on Via della Braina in Bologna.We had analysed quite a few existing approaches, penned a menu that could make your taste buds tap dance, and partnered with folks so talented, they made us question our life choices. Our opening made it to the pages of Gambero Rosso, and suddenly, our "speakeasy" was buzzing with the quirkiest crowd you could imagine. Cue collaborations with fancy chefs, cool breweries, hip cosmetic companies, and artsy types, with appearances at events like the Biennale di Venezia. Who saw that coming? We went from a „bar“ to a „liquid restaurant”. We went from „buying“ to „growing“. We went from „shaking“ to „making“.We went from „concept“ to „reality“.
the next milestone
Cut to April 1st, 2020. scarto bid farewell to Bologna, a city that had given us much.Despite a disrupted goodbye due to a pandemic, scarto embraced a new direction.Since then we have done two things: First, we bottled our beverages to share our approach with a broader audience and minimize environmental impact. Think natural ingredients, handcrafted goodness, and waste reduction wherever possible. We know cocktails, so we craft spirits that have unique flavour profiles.Secondly, we are working towards a cradle-to-cradle process for the distillery. The energy we use for distilling is produced by our own solar panels. Producing their own raw materials became pivotal, involving planting, harvesting, and using every part of the fruits.
The fruit grows partly behind the distillery. The weather and the care determines the quality. This work is a process. This is not the last chapter.
the way we think about cocktails
Deciphering the essence of a stellar cocktail is not easy.In my humble opinion, it's not merely about the spirits and ingredients; the ambiance, the bartender (practically an angel), and the company (also angels, obviously) play pivotal roles.In our ideology a recipe's distinct character should be captured in the interpretation of the bartender. This underscores the significance of flavors and the delicate equilibrium of ingredients.Scarto's spirits harmonize with this ethos, boasting uncomplicated yet intricate flavors tailored to stand out in cocktails, delivering a matchless sensory escapade. Try it!
Cheers.
