1 Bottle 1 Story: Bally Cantarelli

The history of this bottle dates back to 1970s, when the young Luca Gargano received a phone call from his agent asking him for 600 bottles of Saint-James rum for one of his clients. Luca is Brand Manager of Saint-James rums and his eyes start to shine when he learns the identity of the buyer: a certain Giuseppe "Peppino" Cantarelli, renowned Italian restaurateur….

Luca Gargano had been serving Saint-James for some time when his agent from Parma told him the news. Peppino Cantarelli is a leading authority in the world of catering and he wants to buy Saint-James rum to make his Cantarelli coffee, one of his flagship drinks. Double-starred in the Michelin Guide, Peppino is a fine wine connoisseur and is one (with his colleague Giaccone) of the very first to import single malts from Scottish distilleries selected by independent Italian bottlers. He even pushed people like Bonfanti and many others to explore this universe and quickly built up one of the most beautiful and important collections of Single Malts in the world.

Accompanied by Giancarlo Borgarello (sales director of the Spirit company) and his agent Oppici, Luca was twenty years old when he opened the door of this restaurant for the first time. At the end of the meal, Peppino reiterates his request and orders 600 bottles of Saint-James rum, and more precisely amber rum to make his Canatarelli coffee: a mixture of coffee, amber rum and bay leaves. Although the order could undoubtedly seem anecdotal today, it was nevertheless significant for the time, and it was even the most important recorded by Saint-James in those years.

Proud of the feat, Luca will nevertheless learn at his expense a commercial lesson which he will remember for the rest of his life: during a second meeting, the restaurateur will sign him a blank check, leaving the frail salesman the responsibility of setting even the price of the order. Mr. Cantarelli has already known Luca's father for many years and, even if he does not doubt the son, puts an incommensurable pressure on his shoulders.

For fear of making a mistake or out of a desire to do too well, Luca will offer an unbeatable price, causing his company to lose money in the process... A few months later, the bottles are delivered, coated for the occasion with a booklet which contains the recipe for authentic Cantarelli coffee.

A rum with an H for Homage

At the same time, Barbancourt Veronelli rum was released on the Italian market, a special reserve named after a famous oenologist/gastronomic critic/anarchist and Italian writer (died in 2004). From there, an idea began to germinate in Luca's head which would come to fruition almost a decade later: that of releasing a bottling paying homage to the restaurateur who gave him one of his very first chances, if not the first .

The restaurant had been closed for five years when Luca decided to contact Peppino Cantrelli again to offer to bottle a rum. A great lover of spirits, the man quickly accepted and they agreed on the Bally distillery, which still has all its historic vintages.

A few months later, they meet in the restaurant room for the tasting. The opportunity for Luca to immerse himself in this place full of history in the company of the owner. They went through one vintage after another and it was a 1970 that won all the votes, far ahead of the other samples sent by Bally. This will result in the famous Cantarelli Reserve, bottled on December 12, 1991.

A first try for Luca who releases here his first special bottling under the name Velier, and the very first selection of his long career as a breeder. As with the booklet accompanying the bottles of Saint-James, Luca will also bring his personal touch: to personalize the label, he will scan a Madras jacket that he had bought for his daughter Maria Margaux in Martinique (then aged 5 years), giving even more personality and history to this 1970 Bally…