Marianito in Baster
Saturday morning. Parishioners begin to swarm before the bars that corner the Bilbao New Square . It's lunchtime, which for Basques can be ten o'clock –' hamarretako ', eleven o clock -' hamiketako ’- or twelve noon –‘ hamitako ’-. The timing of the rituals each stomach fixes them and everyone is respected here.
fresh air warms with voices and with the fumes of the kitchens who are already working flat out. Smells like tortilla pintxo , a cod a la vizcaína , a baby squid croquettes . In that same square, children exchange cards on Sunday mornings -who says children, says nostalgic and temperamental parents-, but today what is exchanged are zuritos, glasses of txakoli (from Biscay) and glasses of vermouth.
However, if you kneel in front of the waiter and beg for one of the latter, it will not be the same color as your neighbor's. Not the same grace. Because it is not a simple vermouth: is a 'prepared marianito' . Here everything is done their way. And the difference is substantial.
Marianito in The Small Dog
The vermouth does not swim alone in the glass . They are accompanied by a splash of Campari , another of Geneva , nail angostura drops And a little Orange juice . There are variants that change the juice for liquor (to give it even more substance) or the gin for rum . It is already known about each teacher. Any of them is valid as long as you do not skimp on the quality of the ingredients.
The second drink you begin to worship it. to the second round you start to remember Mariano , whoever it is, while you watch parade in the purest style Fancy still platoon of gildas willing to sacrifice their lives to avoid an ethyl coma . It is what they have that balance between sweetness and bitterness; that depth of spices, herbs and roots that patiently wait to reach your sinuses; that citric and dry hit on the palate: that force you to keep track.
PERSONAL AND TRANSFERABLE RECIPE OF PREPARED MARIANITO
· 8 parts of a good red vermouth · 2 parts of a good dry gin · 1 splash of Campari · 6 drops of Angostura · 1 tablespoon of orange juice · Ice · 1 pitted olive · 1 slice of orange peel to decorate and perfume the glass
Residence's Marianito
WHO THE HELL IS MARIAN
We started the investigation. Saint Google gives us references from Euskadi, La Rioja, Burgos, Navarra... It is clear that the nomenclature has survived in the north but Marianito is not just a thing of Bilbao As much as it is hard for them to believe.
Here the anecdote happens. A waiter who always drinks vermouth in a small glass falls in love with the daughter of a certain Mariano . Before the failure of him with the lady, the boys of the town make fun of him asking him 'marianitos' instead of vermouth . The father-in-law he's never going to have ends up giving his name to his favorite half-drink.
Other theories mix the Martini's 'Sea' Y Cinzano's 'Anus' , two of the main and most classic brands of vermouth and the first to arrive in Spain. Martini or Cinzano? "Mariano" . It doesn't convince us. We find nothing beyond the popular novel.
The first reference to the Marianito in Basque newspaper archives is from 1989. He sends it to us Ana Vega, Biscayne, National Gastronomy Award for the Best Journalistic Work 2019 . The dates don't add up. “ I know older people who have told me that short vermouth has always been called that and taking into account that in the 80s and 90s the consumption of vermouth was clearly in the doldrums, it doesn't make sense”, the gastronome tells Traveler.es.
And it is true. The marianito has been part of the txikiteo since before those decades. When the siren roared that marked the end of the working day, our grandparents left the workshops in flocks and began their route through the taverns before arriving -surprisingly on foot- at home. It was the 50's . Everything indicates that the origin of the name will remain a mystery. “ It is most likely an indigenous name for a cocktail which, really, is well known in other places”, concludes Ana Vega.
"PRODUCES AN OPTIMISM!"
When did the vermouth become so well wrapped in the glass? We open another door and talk to Francois Monti , journalist specializing in cocktails and author of The great book of vermouth (B editions, Barcelona, 2015). He gives us an important fact: the first recipe for a cocktail with vermouth in Spanish was published in 1905 in the collection American soft drinks and spirits , by an anonymous author -to make matters worse-. And he added, for the first time, a teaspoon of gin.
The teaspoon of gin appears for the first time in 1905, in the anonymous book 'American Beverages Soft Drinks and Spirits'
The American continent, the main origin of most of the mixed drinks we know today, crosses paths again in the investigation. the journalist Ana Vega also. In an article about the origin of the Jai Alai cocktail, Vega tells the story of Michael Boadas , one of the waiters who attended the Jai Alai fronton of Cuba -yes, we Basques are everywhere- and how in 1924 the aforementioned brought to Spain several recipes for drinks that were consumed in the presidential box on the court. The recipe called** Jai Alai** was composed vermouth, gin and a shot of siphon . That of another cocktail of the time, the Colonial , also added a Bitters, mint, orange liqueur and Angostura . We are getting close.
It may be that Boadas reformulated these two preparations and served them in the cocktail bar that he opened in Barcelona upon his arrival. This drink was called cuban combination ’: sweet red vermouth, gin, curaçao, and lemon and orange peel in a medium glass with ice. The strength of the drink forced customers to order a shorter version: the 'half combination' was born.
And we arrived at Pedro Chicote , the classic Madrid bartender, who, Monti tells us, published the book in 1927 The American bar in Spain . In it he included the half combination recipe.
In the 1960s, when asked about this cocktail, Chicote comments that it is one of his favorites because “It produces an optimism!” . The mixologist explains that it is a formula that arrives from Cuba in 1924. It is in 1924 when Miquel Boadas arrives from Cuban waters to Spain with his Jai Alai and Colonial cocktails under his arm. The dates coincide. we have a match.
The American bar in Spain
FROM THE TAVERN TO THE AMERICAN BAR
In any case, François Monti is skeptical about the origin of the prepared marianito. He is more in favor of “natural evolution of vermouth consumption”.
For him, the vermouth “ it is a fairly cheap product which soon became an affordable drink for the working class.” the cocktails , including the half combination, they were only taken at certain addresses of wealthy clientele and it is most likely that in order to make vermouth more attractive and differentiate it from the one that was taken at the bar of any tavern, the mixologists added other distillates to make it something more luxurious. “ It was the drink of posh Madrid , of the so-called american bars ”, Monti tells us.
We keep having the feeling that the investigation is running aground, that we are determined to enter dead ends. The greatest connection of Euskadi with countries like England in which cocktails were developed with more intensity may be one of the reasons why in the north of Spain there are, according to Monti, " increased drinking culture and therefore, a greater success of combinations like the marianito prepared ”. The versions of the history of this concoction are as varied as its ingredients. And no clue as to who Mariano is.
“Marianito is not an exact recipe, it is a concept” Monty concludes. He has convinced us. Let's make a toast. Whoops!
LEAVE YOURSELF WITH STORIES: WHERE TO TAKE THE MARIANITO PREPARED IN BILBAO
Here things become simpler. We hang up the detective raincoat. Ana Vega (Biscayenne) and François Monti have their favourites. And so are we. These are some addresses of interest if you want to investigate on your own:
Marianito in Baster
The modern ones:
baster (Posta Kalea, 22)
baster it means 'corner' in Basque and the one that occupies this bar is always overflowing. Two keys: your marianito prepared , one of Bilbao's favorites, and its express potato omelette : made at the moment in individual portions and extremely juicy. And on top of that, they pair perfectly. Here Jon Abad and Lluís Auguet choose to keep the recipe secret and we will respect the off the record, although we can tell soon that they use the vermouth that Luis Buñuel used for his Dry Martini: Noilly Prat . Wonderful.
promenade (Astarloa Kalea, 5)
A vermouth in itself . More than 40 brands of vermouth but the classic Cinzano of tap . At the time of taking it you can choose between several different cocktails. The emblem of the house is the homonymous drink - promenade - which substitutes gin for rum. a candy . ask for one of their salad sandwiches -yes, just like that- and forget about the world. If you don't like sweet, opt for a classic Negroni . They make it scandalous.
Marianito prepared: the mysterious origin of the Bilbao cocktail
The Small Dog (Arechaga Kalea, 2)
On weekends you will see a good number of people from Bilbao sitting on the stairs that overlook the estuary and that give entrance to the San Francisco neighborhood , one of the new pilgrimage areas of the capital. In their hands, Marianitos prepared from El Perro Chico and anchovy portions who also sunbathe. Here they make a prior maceration with a bitters, gin, vodka and burnt orange to which they then add orange juice and Cinzano vermouth. They affirm that in the field of marianito "no one is going to invent anything anymore." Regardless, it's one of our favourites.
A marianito overlooking the estuary
The classics:
Basque Bar (Astarloa Kalea, 3)
The Garcia family runs this classic Bilbao ornate English style in which no bottle of gin, whiskey or champagne is out of place (and they have more than 100 references). In his marianito prepared, Martini, Punt e Mes, gin, Campari and a few drops of Angostura. They follow the same recipe since 1976 , date of its opening. “Why change, if it works”.
Bar Urdina (New Square, 5)
It is in full Bilbao heart , in that square that beats in the old part of the city and that is a meeting point for the native and the foreign. Here traditional pintxos -attention to scrambled - and a icy prepared marianito -the Martini rests in the freezer-. The recipe? A well kept secret since 1932.
The marianitos of Bar Urdiña
Ander Etxea (Barrenkale Kalea, 21)
A tiny local in the Seven Streets of a green that hurts and a prepared marianito that has been a tradition since the 70s of Bilbao Sundays. They do it with Martini Rosso, gin, curaçao and Angostura . They have a curious blue version made with white vermouth. They serve it in classic cocktail glass and with orange peel. To accompany, olives. Here comes what is coming.
cocktail bars
Ara 23 (Kale Barrio, 5)
One of the most recent additions to the aperitif map. Mix of tropical exoticism and Basque essence , this cocktail bar is one of the few that have chosen Casco Viejo to set up their bar. Here the marianito prepared part of a premix of Carpano, Cinzano and Gin Boodles -the one that Churchill used to take- and replaces the orange with tangerine. A drink that won the first prize of the Cinzano Prepared Vermouth Contest 2019 just a month after opening.
Gin Fizz (Lersundi Kalea, 1)
under the command of Fran Ceacero, barman winner of several mixology contests , in this cocktail bar the classic meets the modern. The marianito he prepares is one of the first: Cinzano vermouth, gin, Campari, Punt e Mes, orange liqueur and a sigh of Amaro spray. no concessions . What makes this drink happy despite the seriousness of its author.
Residence (Barrainkua Kalea, 1)
Talking about this place is talking about its founder, Manu Iturregi , a bartender of those who make history. He has collaborated with chefs of the stature of Mario Sandoval and with specialists like our source François Monti. The marianito prepared by him is a powerful drink, one of those high-altitude preparations that warm the throat. Hendricks, Carpano, Cointreau, Angostura and a touch of Amaro Nonino (more citrus). On weekends at aperitif time you can take it watching a concert. will you want to dance.