Valentino Girotto is co-author of the book Bubbles: A Guide to Carbonated Cocktails and co-founder of Crossroads Consulting, which focuses on knowledge sharing.

Valentino shares with us what fascinates him about carbonation, the hardest aspect of writing a book about it, common mistakes he sees, and how to get started carbonating.

The Cocktail Balance: How did you get into bartending? Tell us about your bartending journey.

I studied Hospitality and Management in Italy and began working in bars and restaurants at the age of 14. At first, my focus wasn’t on cocktails—it was more of a practical, economical choice. However, my Food & Beverage professor saw potential in me (I guess) and took me under his wing. Thanks to his mentorship, I discovered a passion for the incredible world of flavors and creativity that a bar can offer.

At 19, I moved to London, where I worked in several high-end venues, including hotel bars and Michelin-starred restaurants. After spending 4–5 years searching for the perfect workplace, I decided to shift my focus on a different kind of environment and found Crossroads, which had just opened in Camden in 2020. I joined the team shortly after its launch, quickly becoming Head Bartender and later Bar Manager. Since then, I’ve never stopped studying, researching, and experimenting, but most importantly having fun.

Crossroads became more than just a workplace—it became home. Together with Bart, (the bar’s co-founder and co-owner), we’ve built something truly special. We fostered an environment that encourages creativity and innovation, and over time, we transformed Crossroads from a small underground neighborhood cocktail bar into an award-winning and globally recognized hub for the modern carbonation movement.

During this journey, I also completed my studies in Leadership and Management at Corndell, as I believed that “just experience” won’t give you enough skills to lead a team to success. (Training for managers in our industry are not nearly enough!)

Today, I’m proud to be a company director and co-author of my first book—a twist in my career I hadn’t expected but have fully embraced. Alongside Bart, I now co-own Crossroads Consulting, where we focus on education and consultancy, continuing to share our passion and expertise with others.

Why does carbonation interest you in particular? What is your favourite thing about it?

I am an incredibly curious person, and I tend to get bored quickly if something doesn’t stimulate my mind enough. Carbonation, however, was the one subject that constantly challenged me—it was something I couldn’t fully explain or understand, and that curiosity drove me to dive deeper. I felt an insatiable need to discover more and more about it.

It’s such a fascinating topic, with so much science behind it, and the impact carbonation has on the final flavor of your drink is unbelievable. It’s the perfect blend of nerdy and creative, which keeps my mind engaged, challenged, and happy.

My favourite thing about carbonation is how it allows your service to be smoother, quicker, more consistent and leaves you a lot more time to dedicate to your guest.
If we still think we have to shake a drink just to put on a 'show' and entertain our guests, then the real issue lies elsewhere.

Why did you decide to write a book focused only on carbonation?

The decision to write "Bubbles: A Guide to Carbonated Cocktails" stemmed from a genuine need within the industry for more knowledge and information on the subject. We were constantly receiving messages on social media from people asking for explanations about how carbonation works, how to do it properly, and how they could achieve the same level of fizziness and quality bubbles we were producing at the bar every day.

After a while, Bart and I realized it was time to consolidate all our knowledge, discoveries, studies, and experiments into one comprehensive guide that would be accessible to everyone. We were never gatekeeping this information, but we needed to find a way to make it easier to share and more approachable for a broader audience.

It’s funny to think about it now, but after nine months of intense work and dedication, our “baby" was born. Writing the book was a challenging yet incredibly rewarding experience, and we’re so proud to have created something that contributes to the industry we love.

What was the hardest part about creating the book? What are you most proud of?

As I mentioned, writing the book was a real challenge. With no prior writing experience and no concrete idea of what writing a book truly entailed, it felt like I had jumped into it blindfolded. There’s so much more to creating a book than you initially realize—so many details to consider, challenges to face, and even new skills you are required to have.

One day you’re managing a bar, and the next, you’re dealing with strict deadlines from your editor. Suddenly, you find yourself discussing paper types, thickness, and comparing two shades of a color that, realistically, look identical. It was intimidating at first, but it quickly turned into a fun and exciting new adventure.

For me, the hardest part was finding the balance between the time I dedicated to the bar, the book, and my personal life. Managing all three was a juggling act, and it took some time to adjust.

The most challenging chapter to write was definitely the one on acidity—it was by far the most complex part of the book to figure out. Countless weeks of hard work went into getting it just right.

When it comes to what I’m most proud of, it’s hard to pick just one thing. If I had to, I’d say it’s the way we managed to take such a complex subject and make it easy and approachable for everyone to understand and put into practice. That accessibility was really important to us, and seeing it resonate with others makes all the effort worthwhile.

What are some of the most common obstacles and misconceptions about carbonation among bartenders? Most common mistakes?

Carbonation can definitely feel intimidating at first. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a lot of chemistry involved, and without a scientific background, it can be challenging to figure out what’s going wrong. But once you understand the fundamentals, it opens up a world of possibilities.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that you can’t get a well-carbonated drink using draft systems or kegs. That’s simply not true—everything is possible if you know what you’re doing. In fact, the consistency you achieve with kegs is unparalleled, which is why they’re such an incredible tool for high-quality carbonation. Cocktails on tap is the future.

The most common mistake I see is not treating CO2 as an ingredient in the cocktail. Carbonation has a huge impact on the final result and the flavor of your drink—it’s much more intense and powerful than sugars or acids. Understanding this and learning how to control it can completely transform your cocktails game, taking it to a whole new level.

If a bar or bartender wants to get started with carbonating drinks, where do you suggest they start? Besides reading your book of course.

I’m a huge fan of trial and error as a learning method—seriously, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO FAIL! At the end of the day, we’re making cocktails, not performing life-saving surgery in an emergency room. The stakes aren’t that high, so just have fun with it! If your first attempt isn’t perfect, who cares? It’s part of the journey.

That said, before you dive in, make sure you know the risks and take the proper safety measures. Playing with compressed gases isn’t something you want to approach recklessly—it’s all fun and games until a PET bottle decides to explode because you picked the wrong one!

Once you’ve got the safety basics down, start small. Experiment with simple combinations to understand how carbonation changes texture and flavor. From there, you can start dialing it up with full cocktails. Don’t worry if your first carbonated creation isn’t the next recipe for your World Class finals; every experiment you do is a step toward mastering the technique.

And of course, beyond my book (wink), connect with other bartenders who are exploring carbonation. This industry can truly be generous if you look in the right places. and you’d be amazed what you can learn just by sharing or asking around.
Learn - grow - pass it on. Am I right?

About Valentino

Valentino Girotto’s journey into hospitality started at the tender age of 14, while attending hospitality school and taking his first steps as a waiter at a prestigious fine-dining establishment in Italy. However, it became apparent early on that his true passion lay elsewhere within the industry. Through various positions across different brands and bars, the path eventually led to London, where a clear focus on ‘modern bartending’ took shape. After experiencing diverse environments including 5-star establishments such as The Lalit, Michelin restaurants including Hide and high-end venues like Louie, Valentino finally found his calling at Crossroads in 2021.

He soon became bar manager, and watched the venue develop and grow in a post-lockdown world, being part of the journey that has led Crossroads to where it is today. Recognising a gap in formal training for bar managers, Valentino made the decision to pursue Leadership & Management at Corndel, graduating with distinction, becoming a member of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). His aim was always to empower the Crossroads team and continuously raise the bar’s standards.

The future is exciting for him with the launch of the Crossroads Consulting company which, along with the book, represents their (Valentino & Bart) future of knowledge sharing. Having developed training programs with a focus on elevating carbonation techniques globally and embracing industry-wide improvement. When Valentino isn’t writing books or working on new projects, he can be found on the back of a motorbike in a distant country, combining his passion for bikes and travel.

His book Bubbles: A Guide to Carbonated Cocktails is available in The Cocktail Balance eshop, and he was advisor for the chapter on carbonation in The Cocktail Balance 2.0.

Valentino Girotto: Don’t be afraid of failing - have fun!

About Valentino

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