Mix & Match: Cocktails & Artisanal Pastries - powered by Moena

What happens when contemporary Hungarian wermut meets artisanal pastry?

Not your usual cocktails, not your usual pastries. Spend an evening exploring four cocktails created with Moena Wermut by bar legend Zoltán Nagy, paired with four pastries and small bites created by Valentina Ion and the Grain Trip team. The common ground? Fermentation, flavour, texture and a balance.

Zoltán Nagy is the co-founder of Moena Wermut, co-owner of Boutiq’Bar Budapest (formerly recognised by The World’s 50 Best Bars), co-owner of Pink Pony Club Budapest and founder of LAB – London Academy of Bartenders.

Valentina Ion is the co-founder of Grain Trip, an artisanal sourdough bakery in Bucharest that works exclusively with natural sourdough, without commercial yeast.

Together, they’ll explore what happens when these cocktails and pastry meet. Zoltán will show you how to build a balanced vermouth cocktail and share practical bartending tips you can use at home, while Valentina will take you into the world of sourdough, fermentation and pastry. You’ll taste each pairing, ask questions and see how acidity, sweetness, bitterness and texture can completely change the way two things taste together.

Moena Wermut, the first contemporary Hungarian vermouth, is made with Tokaj white wine and Villány red wine, 14 natural botanicals and a lower sugar content. The result is a complex yet beautifully balanced vermouth, with floral, citrus, herbal and spicy notes that make it as interesting in cocktails as it is on its own.

And this is where things get even more interesting: the vermouth won’t always stay in the glass. Some of the evening’s creations will bring the two worlds together directly, with fermentation and pastry becoming part of the cocktails itself.

You’ll leave with a better understanding of what makes a cocktail pairing work, a little fermentation know-how and plenty of ideas for your next aperitivo you can host at home.

Ticket price: 200 lei/person (VAT included)