In Rome, where boldness often meets restraint, Patrick Pistolesi and his team at Drink Kong unveil Flux. A new drink list that strips back the excess and moves with a quieter kind of force.
Drink Kong Presents Flux
Now on its fourth menu in seven years, Drink Kong has never felt more visceral. Flux pulses with frequencies and vibrations, the subtle play of hertz flowing between bodies, shaping emotion, sensation, memory. For a bar already cemented in The World’s 50 Best Bars list, this new chapter it’s an atmospheric shift.
True to the bar’s Japanese-inflected minimalism, the approach here is distilled to its purest form. A concept built on “substract”—a hybrid of substrate and subtracted—it seeks out the nourishing essence that remains once everything unnecessary has been peeled away. Like tuning to the right frequency at the right moment: sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes in the soft middle. Instinctual. Animal. Irresistible.
And then, a question: what frequency do glasses resonate at when they gently clink in celebration—of a moment, a milestone, of self? What harmonics ripple through a crowd tuned in to that subtle ting, softened by liquid and atmosphere? Pistolesi and his team asked. And Flux is their answer.
Minimal Shape, Deep Frequency
As always with Drink Kong, the form is stripped back, the intention sharp. Clear ice. Simple glassware. Hushed color. Nothing more. Flux, a word that evokes motion and transformation, captures the spirit of a menu designed as a theremin of harmonized ideas. For the first time in Drink Kong history, the drink list, designed by Alessandro Gianvenuti’s studio Lord Z, features the cocktail ingredients, a subtle shift in transparency that still keeps a veil of mystique.
Flux, Fundamental – Source
Rum returns—long eclipsed by gin’s dominance and the recent flirtation with agave spirits. The list features 29 drinks, including two non-alcoholic serves, a few enduring house signatures, and three “movements,” each designed to align with a guest’s personal resonance.
Fundamental – Source is the opening act. “Every vibration begins in stillness. In simplicity lies the origin.” A clear example is Shibui, a poised blend of nutmeg, maple syrup, fig leaf soda, and rum—vintage notes, reassembled into a sip of quiet elegance.
Harmonic Modulation
The journey continues with Harmonic – Modulation, where “tradition meets resonance.” Here, Impeachment reimagines the Paloma through a lens of delicate freshness, layering white tequila with basil and peach in a sparkling crescendo that’s hard to match.
Transcendent – Crossover
The final movement is Transcendent – Crossover. “Beyond the visible, into the inaudible. Two waves collide. A new frequency is born.” This is the most creatively audacious section, exemplified by Be(e)true(t)—a drink where gin is joined by ginger, sour mustard, and a red beet milk. The result: a study in tension between acid and softness, bold yet refined, cerebral yet drinkable.
Drink Kong’s Core Reimagined
Even Drink Kong’s most iconic serves find new expression. Fear & Loathing in Oaxaca is a twist of the Long Island Iced Tea, restructured around the verdant heat of tequila, redistilled melon liqueur, and jalapeño. A drink that leans into green, spice, and freshness, pulling the palate into uncharted terrain.
But in the end, the only fixed point in the Drink Kong universe is this: step inside, sit down, relax. Let the flux take over. Whether whispered or roaring, each frequency finds its place.
Images courtesy Drink Kong, photo by Alberto Blasetti
