Tommaso Cecca has one of modern bartending’s more unusual roles. One part bar manager, one part brand ambassador, he conducts a hybrid role on both sides of the bar at Camparino in Galleria. Located on Milan’s Piazza Duomo, the bar was opened in 1915 by Davide Campari, son of Gaspare Campari, the founder of the company which owns the bar to this day.
“It’s a unique role,” says Cecca, whose official title is global head of Camparino licensing & mixology. “The way to approach the industry and our job in general has changed a lot. I was born a bartender, but I’ve embraced the general manager position over 12 years. Making a cocktail is one thing, but the entire experience overall is the key to opening bars and to grow in general. Making cocktails is a fabulous job, but it’s repetitive and after time you need to find a way to evolve.
“We work for a big company and we’re proud of this because we can see trends before an independent bar somewhere in the world. Take the acquisition of Courvoisier – that’s not just another amazing spirit for us to work with, I think cognac will make a strong return to cocktails over the next few years.”
But this isn’t just any branded bar. The venue, in the shadow of Milan’s Duomo, was number 27 in the World’s 50 Best Bars in 2021. Its charm is not just in its history but in its versatility. Today, the Camparino is split into three distinct spaces, the first of which is the Bar di Passo, the storied standing-room bar where white-coated bartenders swiftly serve up Campari Seltz and other brand classics.
“The exercise with the classic bar is to maintain the perfection of classic cocktails,” says Cecca. “No one was serving Campari Seltz until the refurbishment of the Bar di Passo in 2018, or the Campari Shakerato, but I think there’s space to perfect these forgotten classics.
“Look at the Martini. Twenty years ago it was an abandoned cocktail, in 90% of the bars it was being made too warm, not very well mixed, not the right dilution. The Negroni is the same. The entire community has since made a real effort to perfect these classics.
“I think the golden era of the super classics is here, but not just that. The day bar reflects real Italian culture. For us, ritual is important – the first ritual of the day is espresso, the second is aperitivo. Bar di Passo is the perfect example of the Italian bar. We sell 40% of our cocktails during the day – that’s three or four hundred cocktails during the day.”
Technique driven
The second area of Camparino, Sala Spiritello, is more refined, low lit and modern. Here, technique-driven Campari-based serves get a 21st-century update with ingredients such as mezcal, yuzu, mushroom and balsamic vinegar.
“On the first floor in Sala Spiritello, we can’t approach it the same way as the ground floor. There are two different dynamics,” says Cecca.
“The approach upstairs is the reverse. It opens at night and 90% of the drinks sold there are signature cocktails, but reflecting our philosophy – understandable but with complexity.
“Each drink has more than three ingredients and more than two techniques. In Sala Spiritello, we don’t have a thousand customers a day, we have about a hundred, so the space that we have to show these details is bigger.”
The site’s newest space, Sala Gaspare, is a different proposition again. Guests here are guided through the history of the brand and of Milanese bartending with a menu of both vintage and modern cocktails.
“We go from a thousand guests in the Bar di Passo, to a hundred in Sala Spiritello to 12 in Sala Gaspare. In there, the attention to every detail is so high. The guests have the space for the entire night,” says Cecca.
“The point of view in Sala Gaspare is to be 100% focused on a few guests to create a magical experience, for guests who are afficionados and connoisseurs. It’s not like 10 years ago – there are guests today who are like restaurant foodies, and it’s very important that we take care of this new generation.”
In Sala Gaspare, Cecca and his team have created one of the most enviable spaces around for cocktail lovers, and the space itself does a good job at capturing the essence of Milan – layered in history, luxury, and style.
