A journey of taste often begins with a spark — an aroma rising from a plate, a gesture behind the bar that redirects your attention, a spirit that invites new combinations. This current shapes the atmosphere at Yapa, where the kitchen and the bar move along the same narrative line. Beginning 15 December, Yapa partners with Neit Irish Whiskey — an audacious, experimental label — to launch Liquid Dialogues, four evenings designed to bring distant perspectives into conversation through spirits, cocktails and dishes.
Liquid Dialogues, a New Format at the Crossroads of Mixology and Cuisine
Milan draws professionals who speak in different creative languages. Their paths generate a constant momentum, shaped by references gathered while travelling and brought back to the city. Liquid Dialogues, debuting on 15 December, channels this energy into four collaborative events created with cocktail bars from around the world.
To understand why Yapa is the natural home for Liquid Dialogues, you only need to step inside its space on Viale Montenero 34. The entrance opens onto two identities in balance: the restaurant led by chef Matteo Pancetti, whose dishes reflect experiences across Asia, Central and South America, and the bar overseen by bar manager Matias Sarli, whose drinks — rooted in years spent between Argentina and Europe — find a precise, understated balance. Moving between the two sides sets the tempo of the experience, creating a constant dialogue between contemporary cuisine and forward-looking mixology.
Yapa’s strength lies in its ability to elevate an ingredient to its purest expression. Raw materials guide every decision, shaped by years spent in kitchens and behind bars around the world. Here, both dish and drink begin with an aromatic detail, a texture, or a memory tied to another country, taking form instinctively. Each recipe pushes past familiar flavour and seeks that precise point where the ingredient reveals its character.
Exploring the World of Irish Whiskey with Neit
Neit supports the four evenings of Liquid Dialogues with the same intensity that defines its identity. This limited-production Irish whiskey was created to express the eclectic mindset of those who see the world differently. Its name pays tribute to the Irish deity of war, a symbol of courage and force—an idea the brothers Francesco and Luca Fracassi transformed into a whiskey project small in scale yet bold in attitude. The bottle’s pared-back design mirrors this spirit, leaving the whiskey to speak for itself.
A Special Bottling for Yapa
Within this vision sits Harvest Gold, crafted specifically for mixing and set to take center stage at the Liquid Dialogues debut on 15 December. It’s a blend both intricate and immediate: notes of barley, citrus, pear and peach on the nose, followed by tamarind, fruit, ginger root and pimento on the palate, closing with a long, bright finish marked by berries and soft spice.
Alongside Neit’s three other expressionsv— Madeira Mistery, Mellow Spice and Toffee Dream— it forms a sensory journey through sweetness, spice and maturation, offering bartenders a generous creative spark. This is why Harvest Gold becomes a natural fit behind Yapa’s bar, pairing seamlessly with dishes and helping define the cadence and depth of each evening.
The First Chapter: 15 December with Double Chicken Please
The inaugural Milan event is entrusted to GN Chan and the team from Double Chicken Please, the celebrated Lower East Side cocktail bar from New York. An invitation-only tasting opens at 5:30 p.m. followed by a reservation-only service from 7:15 p.m., featuring cocktails and pairings presented in progression to preserve the narrative arc.
From here, the structure of the next three Liquid Dialogues events will take shape. A new kind of flavour journey, long awaited in Milan.
Images courtesy Yapa and Neit Irish Whiskey
