The creative process takes time, says Nelson Forchini

When it comes to his work, Nelson Forchini finds that passion and energy — and the importance of true hospitality — are essential.

Nelson is the assistant venue manager at Lui Bar, on the 55th floor of the Rialto Tower in the middle of the Melbourne CBD — a bar with one of the best views around.

“It’s beautiful,” Nelson says.

Nelson is also one of the top 25 bartenders in the Espolòn Afterlife To The Bone cocktail competition — an honour he shares with his boss and longtime collaborator Elisabetta Luppi — and below, lightly edited and condensed for clarity, Nelson talks to us about his drink, The Gruber, the creative process, and how he thinks about drinks.

Tell us about your drink for Campari Afterlife. What’s it called and what’s the idea there?

Basically, the name is The Gruber. The Gruber was the founder of the Caucus bar back to Detroit in 1950 where they were selling a lot of Bullshot — that is basically a Bloody Mary made with vodka, beef broth and like a Bloody Merry mix of spices as well.

The idea of this drink came up after a big night with the team. I was combining this Bloody Mary with a Pickleback.

And yeah, I played with the Espolòn Blanco. I really love white spirits because they have this unique tasting profile that is very true to the raw elements used during distillation. I add Pineau des Charentes that I really love. And I did this fine pickle broth.

When it comes to the creative process, how do you think about drinks?

Well, it depends. mean, it’s very nice to work close with Esliabetta Luppi (the Lui Bar manager) now. We used to work together back in London. I’m saying this because she’s very creative, like in a couple of minutes, hours, she can make a beautiful drink. While myself, I need more time, I need to think about it, I need to take a seat, probably sipping some drinks and then come up with ideas, start to write it down, then sleep the next day, wake up and just go ahead with it.

For me, it’s taking a bit longer.

Sometimes I just come up with ideas, but they don’t work. And I just skip it and try to find new inspiration.

The Gruber recipe

30ml Espolòn Blanco
15ml Bourgoin Pineau Des Charantes
10ml Lustau Fino Jarana
10ml Mount Zero Verjus
20ml Fine Pickle Broth
67.5ml Strawberry Gum Ice Tea

For the fine pickle broth:
Olives
Water
Salt
Pickled onions
Pickled cucumbers

1. Olive brine: Take an equal weight of olives and water. Bring the mixture to boil.
2. Add Salt: Add salt to the boiling mixture, amounting to 17% of the total weight. Stir the mixture until the salt is dissolved.
3. Strain the Liquid: Strain the mixture to obtain a nearly clear liquid.
4. Combine with Pickle Juices: To the olive brine, add half as much pickled onion juice and pickled cucumber juice.

For the Strawberry Gum Ice Tea:

• 1000 ml mineral water
• 20 grams Strawberry Gum
• 125 ml sugar syrup (1:1)

1. Tea : Heat 1000 ml of mineral water to 77°C than add 20 grams of Strawberry Gum.
2. Infusion: Let the Strawberry Gum steep in water for 7 minutes.
3. Strain & Sweeten: Strain the mix, add 125 ml of sugar syrup to the infused tea.
4. Chill: Refrigerate the tea untill chilled.