Italy is undoubtedly famous for its food. After all, when was the last time you went a week without eating pasta or pizza? There’s a reason Italian cuisine has been crowned the world’s most popular. But while Germany has beer, France has wine and Spain has sangria, Italy makes up in food for what it lacks in beverages. Case closed.

However, one London Italian restaurant is on a mission to change this. Sparrow Italia, tucked away on Mayfair‘s Avery Row, is famed for its food – think crispy mushroom arancini, artichoke parmigiano, classic cacio e pepe (served in a cheese wheel, no less) and pistachio pesto pasta – but it would be remiss not to mention its cocktail list, which celebrates the flavours and regions of Italy without an Aperol Spritz in sight.

Star concoctions here include Sparrow’s take on a Bloody Mary, called Apulia, featuring gin, olive oil-washed vodka, lime, tomato, red bell pepper, Apulian olive oil and caprese, alongside the inventive Sardinia, mixing nitrogen-infused honeydew pisco, blanco vermouth, Italicus, meyer lemon and egg white.

Image: Ben Carpenter

However, our personal favourite is the Molise. Paying homage to the eponymous underrated region in southern Italy, this serve has been created by Sparrow Italia’s beverage director Ian Sheldrake to include Italian chilli-infused blanco tequila, lime, watermelon, agave, mango, yuzu, blood orange oleo and cilantro. He says: “This drink was inspired by the unknowns of [one of] Italy’s most uncharted regions, taking a familiar format for a drink and turning it into something altogether different and intriguing.” Read on to discover how you can make this at home.

Olmeca Altos Plata Tequila

£36.25

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RALPH LAUREN HOME Coraline Double Old-Fashioned Glasses

£145

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Visit sparrowitalia.com

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