Kay Baldasare, bar manager at NYC’s Ci Siamo, and Chef Hillary Sterling collaborated to create the „Roman Hills“ cocktail, aiming to evoke Rome’s fresh, green pastures. This fruit-packed refresher, featuring strawberries, vodka, Campari, black tea syrup, and citrus, is designed to complement rich Italian dishes like cheeses and pastas. The strawberries‘ sweetness is balanced by the Campari’s bitterness and black tea’s tannins.
The drink is a modern interpretation of the classic cobbler cocktail, an old template from the early 1800s. While traditional cobblers mix spirit, sugar, fruit, and an herb, the „Roman Hills“ uses Campari as its herbal component and adds lemon and lime for acidity, served over crushed ice.
“We’re trying to evoke the fresh, green pastures of Rome,” says Kay Baldasare, bar manager of New York City Italian restaurant Ci Siamo.
The Roman Hills cocktail, a collaboration between Baldasare and Chef Hillary Sterling, is a fruit-packed refresher designed to accompany rich cheeses, pastas, and wood-fired vegetable dishes. “The strawberries are a natural fit for all the savory things on the menu,” Baldasare explains, adding that their natural sweetness is balanced by the tannins and bitterness in the Campari and black tea.
The drink riffs on the classic cobbler, one of the oldest cocktail templates, dating back to the early 1800s. Typically, a cobbler mixes a spirit with sugar, seasonal fruit, and an herb. Here, the herbal component is represented by Campari, and while citrus isn’t part of the historic version, fresh lemon and lime add a welcome acidic counterpoint.
The original drink was built over “cobbles” of ice, resembling the small stones used to pave cobblestone streets, giving the drink its name. Today, the drink is more likely to be made with crushed ice rather than pebble ice.
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Roman Hills
Kay Baldasare, Bar Manager, Ci Siamo, NYC
Ingredients
3 strawberry halves
1 ounce vodka
1 ounce Campari
3⁄4 ounce black tea syrup*
1⁄2 ounce lemon juice
1⁄2 ounce lime juice
Mint sprig, for garnish
Directions
In a mixing tin, use a muddler or the back of a wooden spoon to crush the strawberry halves and extract the juice. Add remaining ingredients and ice. Shake well, then double strain into a Collins glass over crushed ice.
*To make black tea syrup: Make simple syrup by mixing equal parts sugar and hot water, stirring until sugar dissolves.
Dip two black tea bags (such as English breakfast) into hot water. Quickly squeeze out excess water, then steep the tea bags in ¼ cup simple syrup for 1 hour. Remove the tea bags, and squeeze excess syrup back into the cup (to avoid sticky fingers, place the bag on a spoon, then wrap the tea bag string around the bag and bowl of the spoon). Discard tea bags. Makes enough for 2 drinks, plus a little extra.
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This article originally appeared in the August/September 2026 Italy Issue of Wine Enthusiast magazine. Click here to subscribe today!
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