Cocktail of the Week: Jack Savoretti’s ‘Portofino & Tonic’

Cocktail of the Week: Jack Savoretti’s ‘Portofino & Tonic’ | The Gentleman's Journal

Everyone knows that Jack Savoretti makes great music. But did you know that he also makes great cocktails? After growing up on the Italian border, Savoretti has spent all his subsequent summers in Portofino — and has long been inspired by and invested in the flavours and spirit the surrounds the town’s unique, colourful harbour.

In 2020, when performing in the Piazzetta of Portofino to raise funds for Genoa’s hospital, he met the founders of Portofino Dry Gin, who were sponsoring the event. There, on the Ligurian coast, they discovered many links between their families, and shared a collective desire to bring the flavours and feel of the Italian Riviera to the wider world.

This summer, Savoretti became the newest partner of Portofino Dry Gin. The playful spirit, with its bold bottle and unmistakably Mediterranean character, features 21 botanicals — including juniper, marjoram, sage, iris and rose all handpicked from the brand’s botanical sanctuary on the hills of Portofino. And it’s a home-grown, home-spun enterprise that captured the affections of the singer-songwriter.

“I carry the beauty of Portofino and the passion of its people with me in my heart, everywhere I go,” says Savoretti. “So I am delighted to find myself now working with those very people and helping to share the wonder of Portofino. It is an absolute honour for me, and I look forward to raising a glass with you all. Salute!”

"Portofino has always been such a special and unique place for me…”

The glass in question, and Savoretti’s signature serve, is the simple, stripped-back ‘Portofino & Tonic’. A classic cocktail that lets the crisp, delicate notes of the gin shine through, it is floral, tasty and balanced. And, for a final Mediterranean flourish, it is garnished with a sprig of rosemary — a local botanical used in the distillation of the spirit itself. Here’s how to create the cocktail…