Calabrese, Salvatore , born on Italy’s Amalfi Coast in 1955, is one of the world’s most celebrated bar professionals. He is past president of the United Kingdom’s Bartenders Guild, a keeper of the quaich, chevalier du cognac, and chevalier du champagne and has been awarded numerous distinctions, notable among them Lifetime Achievement Award from Tales of the Cocktail. He is known as much for the exuberance of his personality as for the classic elegance of his technique. See
Calabrese’s first bar job in the United Kingdom was at the legendary Duke’s Hotel; he helped the hotel bar to establish its reputation as the source of some of London’s top Martinis. James Bond author Ian Fleming was a regular at Duke’s; lore is that Bond’s shaken-not-stirred martini was the invention of a Dukes bartender. See Dukes Bar.
In the early 2000s, while director of the famous Library Bar at the Lanesborough Hotel in London, Calabrese began acquiring antique spirits, particularly old cognacs dating back to the dawn of that spirit’s production in the late eighteenth century. That collection came in handy in 2012 when Calabrese was operating Salvatore at Playboy in London’s Playboy Club and used it to create a cocktail named Salvatore’s Legacy. Sold to a guest for £5,500, the drink earned Calabrese a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as creator of world’s most expensive cocktail.
Calabrese went on to open signature bars in Las Vegas, London, and Hong Kong. He has also written drink-related articles for several British publications, including the Sunday Times, and twelve drink-related books. His 1997 Classic Cocktails is one of the most widely read bartender’s guides of the modern era, and was recently reprinted in a new edition.
Calabrese’s celebrity is not unnoticed by film and television producers. He was also approached by the producer of the remake of the James Bond thriller Casino Royal to shake the famous shaken-not-stirred Bond Martini but refused to participate because he would never shake a Martini.
Salvatore Calabrese’s website. https://salvatore-calabrese.co.uk (accessed February 22, 2021).
By: Dale DeGroff