Balance is Key to the Success of Via Carota’s RTD Cocktails
“Negroni at Via Carota, West Village” by Bex Walton is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Anyone who’s ever sat at the bar at Via Carota understands how highly its owners regard a quality cocktail. Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, the couple behind that 9-year-old Italian destination, are known for their rustic meats, handwrought pastas, and vegetable contorni, but they’re also acclaimed for the quaffability of their spritzes, Negronis, and martinis.
Drinks at Via Carota
As the chefs evolve in their partnership, the drinks part of what they do has taken on greater importance. In 2019, they opened Bar Pisellino, an all-day café with the marble-counter service you would find in Milan or Venice, so New Yorkers can start their work day with a latte macchiato and end it with tramezzini and a pre-batched Aperol Spritz and last year, they opened Spazio Creativo, which is, among other things, a provisions shop, perfect for showcasing their latest endeavor: ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDC). Launched this month, Via Carota Craft Cocktails are available nationally through the website at $39 for 375 ml bottles, or $99 for sets of two with bespoke glassware. Now drinks enthusiasts around the country can discover what Williams and Sodi’s New Yorker fans have long known: Chefs like them make stellar mixologists.
Sourcing Ingredients
Via Carota Negroni
Working, for now, with a white-label distillery that produces the cocktails to their specs, Williams and Sodi have introduced the brand with six drinks: a “signature” vodka martini and an espresso martini; a classic Negroni and a white version; a rye-based Old Fashioned and a Manhattan. In all of them, the recipe comes down to a principle the chefs speak of often: balance. Where many RTD cocktails are junked up with high-fructose corn syrup, Via Carota’s keep the sugar at bay. And where some push too far in the other direction, getting brash with their bitters, Via Carota’s ingredients and flavors are pared down to their purest, most integrated point.
“A big part of our process is to take away and take away, so that whatever remains is stronger,” says Sodi. That was how the vermouths in the cocktails came together. Straightforward and versatile, the chefs’ vermouths are the key to the approachability of the vodka martini, the roundness of the Manhattan, and the poise of the Negroni. “It was a challenge because there is not much history in vermouth in the U.S., so the distillery had to learn how to make them, what ingredients to use, the percentages, and everything. They took a long time to arrive to where we we wanted them to be, but after two years, we found the right recipes.”
“We must have tasted 87 versions,” adds Williams. “So we couldn’t use what everybody else uses. We had to find our own versions and be laser-focused on what we want and don’t want in the bottle. Rita was relentless on the decision making and getting cocktails that, would taste really like bar quality.” With this level of attention to detail, it’s no surprise that the chefs have acquired a license to run their own distillery, and they’re planning to come out with a line of spritzes next.
Tweaking the Ratios
Via Carota Espresso Martini
Take the potent Negroni. Rather than the standard 1:1:1 gin, vermouth, Campari ratio, says Williams, “Rita has it finessed, so there’s a little bit more maturity and sophistication in her version. It’s really balanced and strong but not as sweet.” The bespoke vermouth helped. So did the Campari substitute that couple chose: Brooklyn-made Forthave Red, a bittersweet aperitivo that adds an earthy, chewy edge to the drink. It’s Sodi’s favorite among her launch cocktails.
“After the Negroni, I love the signature martini,” she adds. A 75/25 vodka version, it contains, not dry vermouth, but a bianco. “I’m not a big fan of martinis when they’re too strong or harsh. The sweet vermouth smooths out the alcohol, and that’s why it’s so well-balanced.” A touch of orange bitters brightens up the drink, adding blossomy allure. At just 29 percent ABV, it’s a martini that you can enjoy at aperitivo hour.
An Italian Touch to American Classics
Via Carota Old Fashioned
Williams is loving the whiskey drinks. “I haven’t been drinking whiskey for awhile, but the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan are turning me back onto it,” she says. True to form, the chefs crafted their Old Fashioned in minimalist fashion: “We let it be what it is: a great rye cocktail with just enough flavor built around it.” The Manhattan gets its herbaceous finish from the touch of amaro that the Italian-born Sodi has long added to her recipe.
All of the cocktails are packaged in cut-crystal bottles that look fetching on a home bar—though you might want to pop them in the fridge instead so they’re cold. After all, the best thing about these elegant cocktails is that they’re waiting to be poured and sipped.