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Beetroot, miso and soy sauce rarely make it into a winning vodka cocktail. On 9th October at Locale Firenze, they did. Michael Collovigh of Gucci Giardino in Florence has been crowned winner of the Altamura Distilleries Competition 2026: Italian Edition with The Devil’s Trencadís, beating four fellow finalists to earn a year representing Altamura Distilleries at major international bar events throughout 2027.

A twist on the classic Satan’s Whiskers, the drink pairs Altamura Distilleries Vodka with dry vermouth, fresh orange juice and a radicchio-based Les Conspiracions cordial, treated with two enzymes: one to boost flavour extraction, the other to strip out almost all of the bitterness. Beetroot extract, miso water and soy sauce then take it somewhere savoury. Citrus meets umami, and it’s a clear sign of how far kitchen thinking has moved into the modern cocktail.

The name is the concept. The Savoy Cocktail Book lists Satan’s Whiskers in two versions: straight, with Grand Marnier, and curled, with Curaçao. Collovigh took his cue from trencadís, the Catalan mosaic technique made famous by Gaudí, in which the same broken fragments are rearranged into entirely different compositions. The judges were given the choice: straight up in a clean Nick & Nora glass, or curled, on the rocks in a curvier, colourful glass that echoes Gaudí’s palette. True to the original, there is no garnish.

Now in its second year, the competition ran four semi-finals across Italy before a final judged by a star-studded international panel, drawn from some of the world’s most celebrated bars and most of them long-standing friends of the brand:

• Giacomo Giannotti, founder of Paradiso, Barcelona: The World’s Best Bar 2022 and No.4 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2025. He created three signature serves for Altamura at Florence Cocktail Week 2023 and toured the US with the brand in 2025.
• Stefano Catino, co-founder of Sydney’s Maybe Group, home to Maybe Sammy, named the world’s most influential bar by Top 500 Bars in 2023. Altamura launched in Australia at his Maybe Cocktail Festival.
• Frank “Franky Kurt” Maldonado, head bartender and global ambassador of Employees Only, New York, the West Village icon that helped spark the city’s craft cocktail revival. He poured for Altamura at Florence Cocktail Week 2025.
• Tommy Wong, co-owner of Hope & Sesame, Guangzhou: No.14 in Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024 and named Best Bar in China. He is also a partner in CMYK, Changsha and DSK Cocktail Club, Guangzhou, and a Tatler Asia Gen.T Leader of Tomorrow.
• Giorgia Fornaciari of the Stravinskij Bar at Hotel de Russie, Rome, and last year’s champion. She took the inaugural title in 2025 with Anima Bruciata and has spent 2026 as Altamura’s ambassador at international events. This year, she switched sides of the bar.

“Michael’s drink is exactly what this competition exists for,” said Lorenzo Di Cola, International Head of Brand at Altamura Distilleries. “Beetroot, miso and soy have no business sitting this comfortably alongside vodka, but the savoury, peppery character of our durum wheat ties them perfectly together. Italy is producing some of the most exciting bartenders in the world, and we can’t wait to put Michael in front of an international audience in 2027.”

“I wanted to build a drink the way a chef builds a dish, layer by layer, and Altamura gave me the perfect canvas,” said Michael Collovigh of Gucci Giardino. “The savoury, peppery character of the vodka lets the beetroot, miso and soy come through without losing the elegance of a classic vodka cocktail. To win in front of a panel like this, made up of bartenders I’ve looked up to for years, is incredible, and I can’t wait to take The Devil’s Trencadís to an international audience in 2027.”

Altamura Distilleries Vodka is distilled entirely from Altamura durum wheat grown in Puglia, the grain behind the PDO-protected Pane di Altamura. Triple distilled and bottled at 43% ABV, it is creamy and full-bodied, with notes of aniseed, cracked pepper and lemon zest and a savoury depth that made it a natural base for an umami-led drink. The brand is Official Vodka Partner of The World’s 50 Best Hotels.

THE DEVIL’S TRENCADÍS

By Michael Collovigh, Gucci Giardino, Florence

• Altamura Distilleries Vodka
• Dry vermouth
• Les Conspiracions radicchio cordial
• Fresh orange juice
• Beetroot extract
• Miso water
• Soy sauce

Method: Shake and strain

Glass: Served two ways: straight up in a Nick & Nora, or curled, on the rocks in a curved, colourful glass

Garnish: None, true to the original Satan’s Whiskers