Mumbai gets its first Grappa lounge

Starting tonight, this Italian-style brandy comes to Bandra 5-star. Drink it neat as a shot, sip on a cocktail or spray it on your coffee

Starting tonight, this Italian-style brandy comes to Bandra 5-star. Drink it neat as a shot, sip on a cocktail or spray it on your coffee

Despite the popularity of Italian restaurants, Grappa, the fiercely potent Italian brandy, isn't well known.

But tonight, that's set to change with the launch of a selection of premium, single-varietal Grappas at Botticino, the Italian restaurant at The Trident.

Though Grappa is available in most fine-dining Italian menus, this is likely to be the most extensive selection of Grappas in the city, with a dedicated Grappa Wall and Lounge attached to the restaurant.

Distilleria Bottega uses quirky, bottles made from expensive Murano glass for its Grappas.

Grappa is the liquor distilled from the pulp and skin left over after the grapes have been pressed for wine. In recent decades, it has been evolved into a stylish, Italian-style brandy.

All the Grappas in the Grappa Wall come from the Alexander range that is produced by Distilleria Bottega. The company president, Sandro Bottega uses unconventional bottles made from expensive Murano glass.

Grappa da prosecco comes in a variety of bottle shapes: Diamante, an emerald shaped bottle; Grappolo, a tall bottle with glass grapes suspended at the top.

One of Bottega's most amusing innovations is the grappa spray, a perfume bottle containing vapourised Grappa, which, explains Rahul Korgaokar, Botticino's Manager, "helps make Grappa accessible for guests.
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It can be sprayed on coffee, and goes well with seafood pastas like Calamarata." A glass of grappa is priced at Rs 350 onwards while all Grappa cocktails come at Rs 475 (inclusive of taxes).

At: Botticino. The Trident, C-56, G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex.
Call: 66727777