Focus on Mauro Mahjoub, the King of Negroni
He speaks five languages and has zig-zagged the globe spreading the gospel on mixology. This week we talk to Mauro Mahjoub, and it was an exciting moment for Sharlafied, because the interview was face to face! It took place at Florence Cocktail week where I met Mauro and learned why he is called King of Negroni.
Thanks to La Petit for offering us your cocktail bar & bistrot for our talk.
My interview with Mauro
Hi! Introduce yourself to our readers.
Sure. I am Mauro Mahjoub. I'm Italian with Lebanese heritage. I have been based in Munich for the past 27 years. Three months ago, I decided to come back to Italy.
So your first bar experience was in Italy.
I worked in Bologna in Harry’s bar. This is was the first time I was let behind the bar. First I was a waiter, then I worked my way up to director of the restaurant. Next, I started to do my first courses and seminars on bartending. This was back in 1989.
And how did you become associated with the Negroni in particular?
The Negroni is a huge thing-- all Italian bartenders like the Negroni. I was the first one to do research on the Negroni, then I was the first to conduct seminars and master classes around the world. Then I opened my first American Bar in Munich was called Mauro’s Negroni Club in 1998. This was the first Negroni bar in the world.
So you served many drinks but specialized in the Negroni.
Exactly, And I introduced the category of Negroni, with a number of twists. I had about 15 Twists of Negroni on my menu, and this was something completely new. And I kept traveling the world, doing master classes while continuing my research.
You were approached by Campari to be their brand Ambassador, when was that?
The first approach was in 2003. Campari contacted me when I had my Negroni bar, and they asked me if I can do some masterclasses. And, after 6 months, they asked me to be their brand ambassador. Actually, I was the first brand ambassador for Campari because it was a role that didn’t exist in the company. It becamean official role in 2005. Next, I opened the first Campari Academy, and the format was taken to Milan, New York, Barcelona and all over the world. I organized the first cocktail competition in the history of Campari. In 2011, in New Orleans with Tales of the Cocktail with a group of Italian bartenders, we created the largest Negroni in the world, about 120 litres!
Wow, where did you get a glass that big?
It was a giant ice sculpture. There were about 400 guests and we served something like 900 Negronis in two hours.
Can you name some of the people that were there with you?
Sure!. Ago Perrone, Giuseppe Gallo, Francesco Lanfranconi, William Perbellini, Jacopo Falleni Marco Faraone, Luca Picchi…We all got dressed up in period costumes. Luca was dressed like Camillo Negroni with a big top hat, we all wore moustaches and it was a big party.
Are you still associated with Campari officially?
Yes, well I also moved back to Italy for Campari because my boss asked me to be a part of his team. So now, I am a global company Academy advisor. I still teach seminars all around the world.
I understand you speak a few languages, how many?
It was five, but I think I’ll be adding some because I'm missing a little Spanish, and perhaps some Russian.
And how many years did you live in in Munich?
26 years.
How are German clients at the bar different from Italians?
With Germans, if they like you, they trust you. They will follow you to the end of your career. They are very loyal. I‘ve had people invite me to their weddings, and I was the best man many times. And they introduce me to their kids, and grandkids. They tell me things like: Do you remember when I brought him the first time, when he was just two weeks old? (laughs)
Munich is a great city, but it's not really known for cocktails, or has it changed?
Yes, it has changed totally. In the very beginning, when I opened my bar there were only a few, like was just a few bars, like Schumann's and Pusser’s but things have really taken off in the last few years. Actually, the German bartenders were quicker to pick up on trends than the Italians because they were really watching what was happening in America and London.
I understand you changed the name of your bar from Mauro’s Negroni Club to Boulevardier, why was that?
I had a business partner who wanted to update the image a little bit. The club had been running for 8 years already. Since Boulevardier is in the same family as Negroni, it seemed like an exciting name, something fresh. Also because Boulevardier was invented at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris by Harry McElhone. And our new bar was in the French quarter of Munich, so it was perfect.
The Boulevardier.
What's your favorite twist on a Negroni?
One I like very much - and I created almost 100 twists, by the way - is the Mescalita, with Mezcal, Cynar, Campari and Vermouth and I put black salt from Hawaii on the rim.
And you said, so now you've left Munich, you've left Germany and you’ve come back to Italy, where do you live?
Now I am living in Abruzzo where I grew up. This is my base for the moment; I go over to Milan giving seminars and travel all over. But I think I will eventually move to Milan.
What can you tell us about your book Mint Julep that you published back in 2012?
Mint Julep was my first book which I co-wrote with a friend of mine named Roberto Romano. It was about the history of the drink and all that’s happened up to the present day. There was lots to write about because you know, the Mint Julep was one of the first cocktails born, around the same time of the punch.
And you've got a new book coming out… what's the name of this one?
It’s very fresh, it just came out two months ago, L’Ora dell’Americano by Hoepli (Americano time- so far in Italian but English is on the way.) and its all about the Americano. The forward is by the great historian David Wondrich I did the research with a friend from Bergamo, Lucio Tucci. He's a young bartender, and we work well together. It took about two years of research to write the book.
I would love to do some practical research on that topic!
It’s really interesting because, you know, the Americano is the very first Italian cocktail. From there, we talk about the history and there are twists on the Americano from many Italian bartenders, like Samuele Ambrosi, Patrick Pistolese, Francesco Lanfranconi, Ago Perrone, Salvatore Calabrese, Lucca Picchi… and the list goes on.
You’ve travelled the world promoting master classes and seminars and mixology. What advice do you have to the younger generation of bartenders just starting out?
Number one, they should concentrate on hospitality. It is really the most important aspect, and the new generation sometimes forgets this. So they should have a good base in proper hospitality. You can learn to do nice cocktails and everything, but you need something to support this. My friend Salvatore Calabrese stresses this a lot in seminars too.
So what's next for you apart from the book? Do you have other projects going on?
Sure. Actually, we are working on another book. And there is a lot going on with Campari right now. I still give seminars and research and let's see what happens with the situation around the world about the virus-- I’m thinking about a small bar project that just might happen. After 24 years, having a bar is still something I crave.
Oh yeah, there’s something else! My partner Jorge Alberto Soratti (IBA world champion 2002) and I just launched a gin called 2punto4 produced in Abruzzo. It’s a traditional distilled gin, extracted with the bain-marie technique using 8 botanicals. It is 48° abv but really soft and perfect for a dry Martini… as well as a Negroni, of course.
Where did the name come from?
We sent 6 sample distillates to our master distiller and we picked numbers 2 and 4 to blend together and redistill. So, that’s how we came up with 2.4 or in Italian due punto quattro! Our distributor in Italy is Spirits e Colori and you can buy it on Amazon as well.
Five questions for Mauro
What's your favorite bar book?
The New and Improved Bartender’s Manual, by Harry Johnson...
The nationality that is the most knowledgeable about the bar world?
Italians and Germans. The Germans are very strong.
The best drinking town in the world.
London for sure. Here in Florence is also very good!
If you could meet any historical bar legend, dead or alive, who would it be?
William Schmidt, a German bartender in America from the late 1800’s. Fascinating guy.
What's your superpower?
My intuition.
Where you can find Mauro
Follow Mauro on instagram at @mauro_kingofnegroni
2punto4 Gin: @2punto4gin
Campari Academy: @campariacademy
Spirits e Colori: spiritsecolori.it