Who the f*ck is Lucio? Interviewing one half of the Bevy team
Who the f*ck is Lucio? Tell us about yourself
I’m a young crazy linguistic multitasking cocktail nomad. Composed by Anglo-Napolitan production and hospitality roots. Throughout my childhood I was set to pursue a career in either Alpine-skiing or Golf, but took a sharp U-turn for the spirits industry when living in Cognac.
During my debut in Bacardi I was an International guide for Cognac Baron Otard & D’Ussé, Le Logis Grey Goose’s digital coordinator and François Thibault’s translator from press to conference (I was also occasionally bitched around for other funky tasks in production & bar-work). Graduating from what we could call my mentoring program with them, I then got promoted to become a UK Ambassador for Grey Goose. At this stage I was only 20 years old, in charge of turning the world’s best bars into Vodka & Cognac experts.
Ups and downs, covid made an appearance which led me to move back to work with an artisanal Balsamic Vinegar made in la Grande Champagne . In charge of content and sales development for Bouteville, I developed an e-commerce hitting +1080% during its first month and quit my job for sunny Lisbon.
I took advantage of signing with Google to help set up my papers but I very quickly ran to Toca Da Raposa to shake tins with Constança Cordeiro. On my off days I was organizing events for Lisbon’s slow fashion scene to then launch BEVY.DRINKZ.
I currently supply Lisbon event organizers with craft cocktails on tap and yeah, we are flying to Mexico to shoot a dope documentary.
Why are you doing this?
I’m fascinated by how cultures affect creativity and taste. The cocktail scene nowadays is blooming and I believe, as a fact, that the best way to discover/understand it is by getting involved in the mainlands. Reading books is great for you, but getting your hands in the soil creates a different intimacy for the ingredients and spirits you will be sipping or using.
What are you most excited about?
The distilleries for sure, going back to Cognac. Seeing how people turn their ingredients into wine and concentrate them through distillation is kind of a brainfuck for me. I’m so inspired by the different flavor profiles you can achieve by tweaking the process.
Why Mexico?
Mexico has a very rich culture when it comes to food and drinks. We can see this by the number of Mexican bars & restaurants we have around the trade. I personally had the best nights in these bars. But then I feel like most of us only know Mexico for its sombreros, good tequila and Tacos. Based on what my Mexican friends keep on telling me, this culture deserves a lot more credit. We chose Mexico for this first chapter of Bevy On Tour because it has been a hot topic for both of us, documentary or not. We have been dreaming of going there to see how they do things so here we go.
What can we expect from this project?
This project will be an intuitive platform aimed for F&B enthusiasts to learn about drinks culture around the world. We’re making this fun and engaging, collaborating with Between Collective is definitely helping us bring some reality to our dreams. We are very fortunate to have the budget to showcase our explorations with high end production whilst having full freedom to use our creativity and entertainment. Along the way we are hoping to join forces with more bartenders and brands around the world to turn this into a proper platform for the industry to connect and exchange markets and cultures.
If you could be a cocktail, which one would it be and why?
Long Island Iced Tea. I believe that choosing to be the least likable cocktail is a great answer. No one should order this since it’s not that great of a cocktail to be honest.
Does this mean I get to sit on a bar shelf and accumulate enough bar gossip to be on the Jonathan Ross show ?
How did you become interested in bartending/spirit-making?
When growing up in Cognac you don’t really have the option. By the age of 14 you are already doing the “relevages” in the vineyards and drinking Grand Cru’s à table. It’s a mega headstart for us, we are trained to be experts before we even reach legal age. Just to get things clear, our parents do not force us to drink and do not allow us to drink on our own before we hit 16. The devilish side of the consumption of alcohol has always been clear to us. We’re lucky to inherit all of this know-how and get the chance to adapt to the world's trends and innovations. Bartending is new for our region, Cognac has always been sacred to fine sipping. It still is, but the world of mixology has finally been accepted. And I have fallen in love with this new world of opportunities as soon as renowned bartenders started making their way to our Grande Champagne to learn more about the spirits they were using.
What is the thing you love the most about bartending?
Balancing. The art of blending spirits is the most satisfying yet complex part of the process. I don’t take so much pride in turning all my ingredients into liquid because I tend to use as much simplicity as possible. We obviously use funky techniques that are not so well known and may sound futuristic or hipster to you. But once you have your fluids on point, the most important factor is getting the balance right in whichever drink you want to obtain. Should it be long, dry, spicy, acidic, tarty,... That’s where you compose and develop the right mouthfeel and new flavor profiles just by adjusting the recipe correctly. You can have great ingredients but still make a drink taste shit and vice-versa.
As a bartender, how influenced are you by local products?
OMG how dare you ask ? hahaha
Just put yourself in the position of a good chef. He will obviously work his hardest to show you what he can do with what grows around him. As a sustainable point of view and a reality check, i think it’s stupid that bars & restaurants are still allowed to source themselves from fresh produce internationally. I might be a little optimistic, but most of us can all live from local produce. It actually tastes better and reflects one another’s
culture way more, why the fuck would you order a piña colada in Lisbon? Because you can, because luxury, because you have the money to.
The trade of F&B is changing but consumers need to alter their appetite to decrease the demand for superficial produce, and give credit to local farmers that are fighting hard against this scandal.
What’s the most random or funny situation you’ve had to deal with at work?
Hahahaha, so many ! I think we should do an episode about this topic. When working behind a bar, you have no idea what to expect.
One of the random moments was receiving Hollywood star Nolan Gould. We had a great time together, he was super chill until he got into an argument with another American guy going on about how he drinks 3 gallons of water a day. 4 drunk Irish ladies then got involved, it was a ping-pong of bullshit arguments. This was an experience of a lifetime. As he left one of the Irsih ladies screamed with our favourite of accents “Fuck me ladies, its Luke from fucking Modern Familly”. That was the cherry on the cake for sure.
One of them was having this Canadian friend come and visit at the bar. She was kind of in love with me, we got so busy that i didn’t bring enough attention to her so she decided to leave. Mid-through our second rush, after 4 shots and a dry martini, she decided to come back and sit at the bar with her new Italian friend that I really fancied. Obviously trying my best to stay professional and not deceive her. A couple sits right next to me, she gives me the eye and he keeps on ordering drinks for me. Very nice, but kind of creepy. The bar is empty now and I have no place to hide. Eventually the couple break up and yet she remains at the bar with both elbows on the counter and the biggest of smiles. The Canadian lady understands what is going on and literally gives a huge upper-cut of weird arguments. The recently broken hearted lady had a Russian soul, so she obviously fired back at her with attitude. With Tiago we decided to kick everyone out before even calling last order to avoid turning Toca into a mud fighting club. The Italian lady was very elegant and loved the entertainment.
Bars always have neighbors, and it’s hard to keep them happy in some circumstances. A very well-known trick within the world bar-neighbor society, is a bucket of cold water on loud smokers out in the streets. We were having increasingly busy nights at Toca trying our very best to keep the noise down. This one night a table of 10 crypto dudes straight out of web summit arrive. Already knowing this was going to cause a problem for the old lady. I anticipated and followed the group outside, as I whispered not to make any noise, I received a 15L bucket of water WITH ICE all over me. So I told everyone to smoke on the other side of the street and speak as loud as they wanted to. ‘
