l think Ernest Hemingway and I could have been friends. I have visited several bars he use to frequent, and I have been a fan of all of them.
Today, I made my journey to Harry’s Bar in Venice – the originator of the Bellini – and another favorite of Hemingway.
I have long been plotting my trip here, as the Bellini has been an important player in our cocktail repertoire and the star of many a brunches.
But sometimes dreams come with a cost, and this one set me back € 16.50. While not the most expensive cocktail I have had – that honor still goes to the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz in Paris and came in at a whopping € 30 – it was still a big enough price tag to have some tourists heading for the door.
I wasn’t going to turnaround. I took my seat at the bar and ordered up the famous Bellini. The concoction is white peach purée (never yellow!), simple syrup or sugar as needed and Prosecco. After a quick mix I had my own little glass of history.
My first thought was how modestly sized the glass was for the price. I am not looking for a big gulp here, but this was probably the size of a double shot (maybe slightly bigger).
One sip and all of those feelings melted away. The sparkly cocktail was distinctly peach. Right then I realized how crummy all those weekend bottomless Bellinis were. This had much more body than the concoctions you are getting served up on your drunken weekend brunches. It was fresh.
As I have said before, memories don’t always come cheap, but what price tag could I ever put on this.
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