He grew up in a family ice cream shop with a fairytale name on the Tuscan coast and today is one of the most successful bartenders in the world. His Barcelona speakeasy bar, Paradiso, visually inspired by Gaudí’s architecture, gathers award after award, and it seems that Italian Giacomo Giannotti still doesn’t run short of extraordinary ideas.
When did you discover the world of bartending? What first fascinated you about it?
In our family ice cream shop, Gelateria Paradiso, we had (and still have) a small bar where we serve classic Italian cocktails like Negroni and spritz. It was there that I discovered my passion for hospitality and the beauty of combining flavors and textures. I studied at a hotel school in Italy, and after that, I got a chance to work in London, which I consider the cocktail capital of the world.
Do you still consider yourself a bartender, even though you work in many other positions?
Yes, of course. I still call myself a bartender and still work behind the bar—when my guys let me, that is… 🙂
Do you miss working behind the bar, without much responsibility and a packed schedule? That feeling when you simply enjoy your work and give all your attention to the guests?
I still enjoy working behind the bar, and I’ll always be there for our guests. I do miss bartending mostly in the mornings when I wake up and have to do a thousand things before my work shift starts. But it’s okay; I enjoy working under pressure.
Paradiso is a speakeasy bar with a pastrami shop at the entrance and experiences like nowhere else. How did this idea come about? What experiences can guests expect when visiting this place?
As you said, Paradiso is a speakeasy or secret bar where we wanted to offer our guests unforgettable experiences. From the outside, it’s all about surprise: the entrance to Paradiso consists of old refrigerator doors. When you pass through them, you’re surrounded by art. The interior is stylized in Gaudí’s style—from the bar made of “waves” of wood that stretch along its entire length to the palm tree wallpapers on the walls. The elegant and stylish atmosphere is complemented by this year’s menu, which consists of 21 unique signature cocktails inspired by the universe and everything around us. As we love surprises, we created another secret bar with a capacity of 10 to 15 people inside this speakeasy, but its entrance is a secret.
Photo: Overproof Media
Can you tell us something about your other project, the Galileo bar?
Galileo is a beautiful cocktail bar with a restaurant. We created it in an open space, combining creative cocktails with a great selection of Mediterranean tapas. It’s managed by Andrea Civettini, my longtime colleague from Paradiso, and the menu was curated by Gabriele Milani, a chef well-known in Spain.
If you were to open another bar, do you have a dream location in mind?
My next bar will be in Barcelona. And the one after that, I don’t know yet; it could be anywhere in the world.
What does creativity mean to you?
Creativity means many things to me; it can be an approach in various aspects of our work. Of course, I prefer approaching creativity through creating a new drink or a new cocktail menu. Creativity is the idea of creating something new that always surprises our guests, the joy of exploration, the pleasure of trial and error until you find the right approach. I thoroughly enjoy this entire process.
Could you introduce us to your new project, Paradiso Lab—a space focused on research, transformation, and revolution in the field of cocktails? What does it mean? Sounds like a space full of creativity.
Yes, it’s exactly as you describe. This space is smaller for now, filled with bartending tools and equipment. But the most important thing about it is that it’s separate from the bar (just a minute’s walk away), so we can fully concentrate on our goals in silence and peace. At the moment, besides me, we have two full-time employees, which greatly speeds up our creative process.
I’m very interested in your creative process; is it specific in any way? What’s your personal signature when creating new things and projects?
For us, it always starts with ideas or discussions that are unrelated to our profession, but we want to pass them on through it. That’s how we go through the point of madness—various brainstorming sessions where all ideas are allowed—until we reach the point where we trim, tidy, and refine them, and that’s where the final ideas and cocktails come from.
Can you give us an example of how long the process of creating a cocktail or your project from the first idea to its launch is?
It takes no less than a year, in some cases even a year and a half.
What do you consider your most creative idea, cocktail, concept, or project?
The one from this year, actually, in which the new menu is inspired by the evolution of humanity. It’s very cool, and it will be out soon.
Do you consider modern bartenders to be creative?
I think today’s bartenders are fascinated by creativity to such an extent that, in some cases, they neglect the basics of bartending, which then reflects in the creation of cocktails.
How did your collaboration with schools and scientific institutes such as Plat Institute or ESDi Barcelona come about?
I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by great and creative people and institutions such as the Design School (ESDi) in Barcelona and many others. With these institutions, we share goals, but for us bartenders and bar owners, this collaboration opens the doors to new possibilities and tools. With Plat Institute and the Design School, we’ve done a lot for sustainability in our work, reusing plastics in designing new bar products.
Can you tell us more about the Augmented Mixology Contest?
It’s a project of Paradiso in collaboration with Plat Institute and ESDi School, focusing on providing opportunities for students to explore possibilities and technologies related to cocktails.
Since you started working with VOM Edible Cloud in the bar, you’ve launched a worldwide phenomenon. Suddenly, bars all over the world started using it. Can you tell us more about this device and collaboration?
One day, when Nacho (the inventor of Vom) came to our Lab, he saw that we were working on cloud cocktails and wanted to know what we were doing. He invited me to his studio and showed me Vom. The product wasn’t as stable then as it is today, and we had to work on it for a long time, but the result is fantastic, and I’m excited that we can share this technique with the world.
Creativity means innovation, originality, and above all, constantly seeking new solutions to problems so that we can move forward. For example, you have the best solution for using used plastic materials, such as coasters and promotional items. How did you come up with that?
Exactly as you said, it’s about finding solutions to problems. The idea of sustainable coasters came during the pandemic when we had a lot of time to think and experiment. We try to approach sustainability responsibly, and even though we use leftovers from citrus or herbs, we still threw away a lot of products. We try to ask ourselves, why couldn’t we transform this waste into something useful? And so we started creating various items from leftovers and used materials—the first one was the drink coaster, something that most of our customers recognize and is perfect for spreading our message.
Education and creativity go hand in hand—how do you work in your bars and projects with education?
We are always ready and open to learning new things and being inspired by other forms of art, traveling, and experimenting with new cultures.
Is it possible that you and your teams always come up with new creative, original, and unexpected ideas? Do you have any advice in this regard for bars and bartenders?
If you want to achieve something, you have to work on it. Sometimes it’s easier, sometimes more demanding, but you have to believe in your ideas and not give up if it doesn’t work out on the first try.
When you travel, what’s your favorite place and bar that you always like to return to?
La Gelateria Paradiso.
Do you have any advice on how to maintain energy while traveling around the world, conducting seminars, guesting, and managing your bar? How do you maintain balance in your life?
It’s not easy, but I’m lucky that my wife usually travels with me, and we can share beautiful moments during these trips together.
That much traveling must also be an incredible source of information and inspiration—where do you usually seek it?
As we already talked about, everywhere… Of course, in other forms of art, and also when we travel, we try to discover different cultures, their flavors, and traditions.
However, it must also be incredibly demanding and exhausting; do you still manage to think creatively?
Sometimes it’s exhausting, but most of the time, I enjoy traveling and feel very special when other bars invite us to their countries.
What does it mean to you to be at the top of almost all the world’s bar rankings? From 50 World’s Best through Tales of the Cocktail, Best Spanish Bartender, and many others?
It’s a great feeling, and I’m very proud of myself and my team because it wouldn’t be possible without them. I’m glad that our daily hard work is recognized, but in the end, we don’t work for awards, but for our guests and for ourselves.
Even though you almost always win everything, there’s always room to go further… What is your next goal?
As you say, there’s always something to improve, and we at Paradiso still have a lot of potential and room to grow.
