There are cocktails that need no introduction. Negroni, Manhattan, Margarita, Spritz: names that have become part of drinking culture and reference points for generations of bartenders.
A great classic, however, does not necessarily have to remain unchanged. It can become a starting point, preserving something of its original identity while opening the door to completely new ingredients, aromas, and combinations.
This idea lies behind part of the new drink list of UGO Cocktail Bar – Bistrot, on Via Corsico in Navigli: familiar cocktails shift perspective and become stages of a journey through planets, spirits, and flavors.
Mars: UGO's Take on the Negroni
The journey can begin with one of Italy's most recognizable cocktails: the Negroni.
In Mars, UGO keeps some of its essential references – Bombay Dry Gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth – while introducing banana and Oolong tea. Two elements that take the drink into different territory without completely erasing its origins.
The result comes precisely from the contrast between something familiar and something unexpected. The Negroni remains the reference point, but the journey changes. It is no coincidence that the cocktail menu describes it as a Negroni with a Martian twist.
Mercury: A Manhattan Seen from a Different Perspective
The Manhattan also belongs to that category of cocktails that are immediately recognizable for their structure and character. On Mercury, however, the proportions and ingredients take a different direction.
The Mercury is made with J.W. Black Label Whisky, Punt & Mes Vermouth, and Pedro Ximénez Sherry, accompanied by mint and wild fennel.
UGO describes it as a Reverse Manhattan. The connection to the classic remains clear, while the vermouth, sherry, and aromatic elements give the drink a personality of its own. It is an example of how a historic recipe can become the foundation for something contemporary without losing its connection to the original inspiration.
Neptune: The Margarita Changes Scenery
Tequila and lime are enough to immediately evoke another great classic: the Margarita.
In Neptune, Espolòn Tequila and lime meet birch and wild blueberry. The familiar structure becomes the starting point for a cocktail that brings decidedly less predictable ingredients into the glass.
Perhaps this is where the concept behind the cocktail menu becomes especially clear. It is not about changing a cocktail simply to make it different, but about using a recognizable structure to explore another direction.
Earth: The Mezcal Mule Returns to Its Roots
As the journey reaches Earth, the character changes once again.
Earth starts from the idea of a Mule, using Mezcal Verde together with ginger, Sencha and Matcha tea, lime, and soda. The smoky character of mezcal meets the freshness of lime, the sharpness of ginger, and the vegetal notes of tea.
The reference is the Mezcal Mule, but once again UGO does not simply reproduce its structure. The cocktail is reinterpreted through ingredients that give it a new identity.
Jupiter: A Different Idea of Spritz
Few cocktails are as closely connected to Italian aperitivo culture as the Spritz. For that very reason, reinterpreting it means working with something everyone thinks they already know.
With Jupiter, UGO takes a very different direction from the most familiar versions. The glass brings together white vermouth, chrysanthemum, and apple and pear cider.
The idea of an approachable, convivial drink remains, but the aromatic references change completely. It is a Spritz that uses the familiarity of its structure to introduce less expected flavors.
Saturn: The Colada Changes Orbit
The Colada also carries a very distinctive identity. Rum and coconut alone are almost enough to evoke its world.
In Sarturn, Santa Teresa Rum and coconut remain at the center of the composition, joined by popcorn, purple corn, and lime.
The tropical character meets completely different notes, maintaining a connection with the original cocktail without becoming simply another variation of the classic recipe.
It is perhaps one of the clearest examples of the philosophy behind the menu: recognizing something familiar and, a moment later, realizing that you have arrived somewhere else.
Beyond Reinterpretations: UGO's Cocktails
The Cocktail 2026 Odyssey does more than reinterpret the great classics. Each drink belongs to a broader journey, where planets and ingredients create a path through different ways of experiencing cocktails.
Alongside Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn are other creations such as Venus, made with Ginarte Dry Gin, rose, fig leaf, and tonic water, and Uranus, where vodka, Amaro Nonino, coffee, and sour cherry reinterpret the world of the Espresso Martini.
There are also UGO's Classics and a selection of alcohol-free drinks, confirming a cocktail menu that does not follow a single direction but leaves room for very different experiences.
Drinking a Cocktail in Navigli, Starting from Something You Know
Ordering a classic cocktail has something reassuring about it. You more or less know what will arrive and what sensations to expect.
A reinterpretation begins with that same familiarity but introduces another possibility: recognizing where the drink comes from and discovering, sip after sip, where it has been taken.
At UGO Cocktail Bar – Bistrot, in Milan's Navigli district, this idea becomes the common thread running through an important part of the 2026 cocktail menu.
From the Negroni of Mars to the Spritz of Jupiter, passing through the Margarita, Manhattan, Mule, and Colada, the great cocktails are not forgotten. They become coordinates from which to begin a journey a little further away.
