Of their relentless pursuit to drink like Italians, American bartenders have left few stones unturned. Every thing from unsung aperitivo cocktails to once-disgraced disco drinks have been reproduced, reimagined or riffed on advert infinitum stateside. However even a rustic whose traditions are as pored-over as Italy’s nonetheless holds surprises. Take, for instance, L’Albertissimo, a cocktail from Positano with legions of on-line followers, but no recognized recipe. It seems to be town’s most guarded secret.
The drink title pops up repeatedly when you spend sufficient time Googling trip potentialities in Positano, “The Instagram Capital of the World” situated on Italy’s eternally common Amalfi Coast. “Positano can be very fashionable for Limoncello and ‘L’Albertissimo’, an alcoholic tipple that may solely be discovered at a small stall on the predominant harbor,” reads town’s Wikipedia web page.
That sentence, each weirdly particular and frustratingly obscure, has led me down a rabbit gap. What is L’Albertissimo, this thriller drink that apparently deserves prime billing alongside a liqueur as well-known as limoncello? The Italian-language model of Positano’s Wikipedia entry isn’t any assist, because it doesn’t reference L’Albertissimo in any respect—nor limoncello or some other drinks, for that matter. As a search time period, “L’Albertissimo” will get 1000’s of hits on Google, however most websites provide no further info, usually merely repeating the road verbatim, proper all the way down to the stilted phrasing of “alcoholic tipple.”
One exception to the obvious sworn secrecy across the drink is a TripAdvisor dialogue from 2011. In keeping with a consumer named posigirl, L’Albertissimo is “a tremendous alcoholic drink that consists of lemon granita and another particular substances,” accessible at “the blue snack bar on the pier.” A consumer known as RosaPositano helps and elaborates on posigirl’s remark: “The drink is scrumptious and has no limoncello however has granita di limone.” RosaPositano even mentions somebody named Alberto, who runs the bar and goes by Albertissimo, noting that he was “happy” to see this dialogue.
Some extra web sleuthing reveals that Alberto is the truth is Alberto Russo, the co-owner of stated blue snack bar on the pier, aka L’Alternativa, and is the namesake creator of L’Albertissimo. Russo guards his secret recipe intently and can solely share a single ingredient: lemon granita, an icy Sicilian specialty that goes nice with booze. Whereas Russo confirms the beverage incorporates no limoncello, he declines to verify or deny any further speculations, together with RosaPositano’s claims that “among the many secret substances within the drink, it has a double vodka (strawberry and peach?), lemon soda, and possibly a melon syrup.” It’s true, nevertheless, that L’Albertissimo is a refreshing frozen cocktail that includes notes of strawberry and “simply the correct quantity of sweetness, excellent for the daytime and likewise for heat evenings,” as Russo places it. Like all of L’Alternativa’s drinks, it is available in a plastic cup so guests can get pleasure from one whereas wandering the close by seaside or sitting on the pier, taking within the panorama for the modest worth of seven euros.
In reality, reasonably priced luxurious is L’Alternativa’s M.O. When Russo’s father and uncle opened the snack bar in 1994, they positioned it as a chill, accessible different to Positano’s high-end restaurant scene. The straightforward counter-service stall with a darkish blue awning and teal siding operates from April to October, and might survive on location alone—it’s the very first thing you’ll encounter upon disembarking the ferry from neighboring locations like Amalfi. It’s nestled on the base of town’s stunning pastel buildings, which shortly rise excessive above the ocean, giving Positano its nickname of Città Verticale (Vertical Metropolis). One other of L’Alternativa’s common refreshments is an Instagram-friendly lemon sorbet packed inside a hollowed-out lemon. But the snack bar doesn’t attempt to be a vacationer entice. “L’Alternativa is particular for its enjoyable environment and its affordable worth, the place many locals and vacationers alike select to spend their evenings creating new friendships,” Russo says.
Russo, who grew up in Positano, has bartended for twenty-four years. He additionally runs a preferred fishing constitution firm known as Positano Fishing Excursions. Since 2003, when he and his cousin took over L’Alternativa, they’ve bolstered the collection of snacks, smooth drinks and beer with cocktails, together with classics like Americanos and Lengthy Island Iced Teas alongside originals such because the Cocchissimo, a frozen coconut crammed with Malibu rum, amongst different substances. A couple of years in, L’Albertissimo was born, and its recipe hasn’t modified since. Whereas Russo can’t pinpoint when or how his creation took on a lifetime of its personal, he says it turned well-known amongst locals earlier than spreading to the web and far-flung renown. Maybe the cocktail’s attract isn’t simply its mystique, however its accessibility for locals in addition to vacationers. Even when you can’t keep at any of town’s legendary accommodations or constitution a personal sundown boat journey, L’Albertissimo and the blue snack bar on the pier are there for you.
As Russo says, “L’Alternativa has develop into an emblem for Positano.”
