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Mayday Club

At Mayday you’ll find the distilled essence of the alchemist’s magic, musical and liquid. It’s not so much a club, more a sanctum of skills, where everything, even the beer, bears the consummate touch of the artist. Choice natural delicacies are served; nothing for the mass market here. Selected organic products are teased apart and merged anew, in expertly calibrated combinations that strike the right note just for you.

Italiano  -   English

The best drinks are the ones
we have with friends!

Hours

Tuesday to Saturday | 8PM to 2AM

Location

Via Dante Alighieri 16r - 50122 Florence.
Tel. (+39) 055 2381290

* The Mayday Club is a cultural association of arts and crafts.
Admission is for members only.

Marco Arduino

certified maestro at the Art Institute of Florence

I immediately started studying alchemy crossing perfumery, oenology, botany and pharmacy. Today I am honing the art of mixing more and more, especially in creating unconventional taste associations. For me, the Cocktails are real works of art in the search for new flavors and new sensations, but always using natural substances and not synthetic, with an eye to the tastes of Tuscany.

In 2001, I believed in my city and I opened Mayday club to transmit a unique and inimitable flavor experience to the people. The most important tool is the olfactory memory that allows me to open my creativity and reproduce smells and tastes that come from my childhood, up to the latest knowledge. The finest resource is working with many proprietors of local arts and crafts in a continuous mutual growth of new knowledge and traditional.

My passion is providing something new
for the cocktail enthusiast

Cocktails Menu

Serving Awesomeness since 2001

The Alchemist’s Musings

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Eclettico
Dedicated to Gino Coppedè

Vodka based, demisec, savory Parmesan, saffron and cinnamon contrast with bitter gentian root.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
La Divina
Dedicated to Giacomo Puccini

Gin based aperifif, dry and savory, with salty flavor of Taggiasca olive contrasting with citron.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
La Via degli Dei
An ancient walking path that connects Bologna to Florence

Bourbon cocktail, semi sweet, where raspberry is flavored with the scent of wild herbs.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Il Re di Francia
Dedicated to: Leonardo Da Vinci

Rum based, semi-sweet with the scent of orange blossom and hints of apricot and blueberry in contrast with iris.

Speciality Cocktails

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Sangue di Drago

Whiskey cocktail, dry, with bacon and marjoram in contrast with brewed wine, strong and intense.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Barone Rampante

Gin cocktail, demi-sec, hints of citrus and lavender, combine beautifully with Colonnata lard infusion.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Green Power

Vodka based cocktail, semi-sweet, harmonious flavor with green tea, melissa and fresh pressed apple juice.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Il Perfetto

Perfectly balanced vodka cocktail, where absinthe contrasts with the sweetness of Cassis and pomegranate.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Il Magnifico

Brandy based, full and enveloping, with flavors of milk and orange.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Alchimista

Strong gin cocktail with Capretti, our house wine, served on the rocks.

Historic Cafes

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
L’ Elvetico
Dedicated to: Emporio Elvetico

Gin based, dry, where the contrast between gentian root and rhubarb creates a balance of bitters.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Il Macchiaiolo
Dedicated to: Café Michelangelo

Rum based, sweet and slightly acidic, softened by hazelnut with coconut notes.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Il Fachiro
Dedicated to: Café Dei Fachiri

Vodka based, demisec, peach spiced with a delicate balance between turmeric and pepper.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
L’Elisir dello Speziale
Dedicated to: Liquoreria Falchetto

Rum based, dry, fresh and fragrant with chamomile and carnation to separate the bitter finish of chinotto.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Il Fiaccheraio
Dedicated to: Antico Café Guarnaccio

Rum based, sweet, but with an acrid finish and an appealing mix of prickly pear and notes of milk.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Il Bisnipote
Dedicated to: Café Bianchi

Tequila based, sweet, fresh taste with mango and Indian prickly pear, enriched by ancient spices.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
L’Intervallo
Dedicated to: Il Bottegone

Tequila based, dry and smoky, with contrasting notes of floral and iron oxide.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Caffe dei Ritti
Dedicated to: Café Manaresi

Tequila based, demisec, with occidental spices that contrast with chocolate and coffee.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
L’Illusionista
Dedicated to: Café Chantant

Bold and smoked, with parmesan, liquorice and scotch for an experience at the limits of taste.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Dell’Armonia
Dedicated to: Bar Centralet

Gin based, dry and refined, with tones of olive leaves and dill, delicate but decisive taste.

Florentine Expressions

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Il Moccolo

Tequila based, sweet with two varieties of currant accompaning the lemon balm and a vanilla finish.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Il Quattrino

Gin based, demi-sec, sour and effervescent, with hibiscus and orchid flowers. Very stylish.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
L’Uscio

Gin based, demi-sec, fresh and citric, with ginger and hints of mint and cocoa.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
A U.F.O.

Vodka based, dry and round flavor, enriched with sacramental spices.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Il Buonuomo

Rum based, dry cocktail where camphor, cola nut and vinsanto create a retro appeal.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Capo Ha

Whiskey based, lightly sweet cocktail with salted rim, carrot and vegetable notes.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Le Quarantore

Vodka based, sweet, where wild blueberry and fermen- ted honey meld with the perfume of mugwort.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
La Sassata

Gin based, dry and robust, strongly tinged by grappa tannins and united by the taste of Italian anchovies.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Il Bischero

Vodka based, sweet and decadent, with a lightly salty finish, with hazelnut and whipped milk.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Giro Pesca

Rum based, slightly sweet, where beetroot and ginseng give this cocktail enveloping earthy notes.

Mayday Classics

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
L’Erbaiolo

Gin based, dry, with hints of geranium, gentian root and cranberry.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
L’Armaiolo

Tequila based, semi-sweet where sage blends beautifully with ginger.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Il Crepuscolo
Dedicated to Giovanni Papini

Whiskey based, demisec, slightly smoked flavor, while cherry balances with spices and a hint of citrus fruit.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
La Tempra
Dedicated to Giovanni Michelucci

Gin based, dry, fresh and mentholated, with herbal notes that open to the aromatic bouquet of Torino red vermouth.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Special Guest

Vodka cocktail, sweet, cucumber and bergamot carry the rosy taste of mango, very fresh.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Liquid Paradise

Gin cocktail, sweet, coconut and raspberry in gentle contrast with rhubarb.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Mayday Club

Gin cocktail, demi-sec, where nettle binds with the aroma of milk in a marriage of flavors, fine and delicate.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
4 Novembre

Gin based cocktail, spicy, with opposing bitter flavors of artichoke and milk thistle.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Il Paperino
Dedicated to Enrico Piaggio

Cognac based, sweet, with Cassis, carob and raspberry masterfully blended for a unique, aromatic taste.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Orizzonti di Gloria
A Kubrick film about the French Army during WWI

Vodka based, where fig and rose hips blend beautifully with subtle notes of almond.

Our Story

Listen Up!

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Mayday Club
The Bar

A radio beacon at 16r Via Dante beams out steadily and constantly, inviting wayfarers from far and near. Its light attracts the curious, and guides all homewards after a memorable visit. It is this radio beacon which shines forth on our story.

More details

The history of Mayday Club

The beginning ...

It’s the summer of 2001. Florence is sweltering in the grip of a stifling heatwave, but in Fiesole, above the sultry plain, a cool breeze swirls gently around the Roman amphitheatre, unknowingly carrying with it the seeds of a new idea…two guys have a dream…There they are, in a garage on the hillside, surrounded by relics from another era: the era of the telegraph, of radio waves, of receivers & transmitters…We’ll hear more about those later. With a craftsman’s touch they are busy planing, cutting, polishing, lovingly following the grain of the wood…Unbeknown to you, dear reader, it was in that workshop that Mayday began to germinate & thrive, as hopes were nurtured…And thus, ten years ago, Mayday came to be. Mayday, or MaydayMayday, as many passing underneath its sign say, or mmday to the loyalest of the regulars.

After the dots, its essence as in three swift dashes ---

Florence, jewel of the Renaissance. Some say that the Florentines have been resting on their laurels since those times, but try talking to the characters in this story. Florence is a small city, full of concealed treasures. Delve into it, and its riches will be unfurled before you, delights to be savoured, allowed to linger on the palate. At Mayday you’ll find the distilled essence of the alchemist’s magic, musical and liquid. It’s not so much a club, more a sanctum of skills, where everything, even the beer, bears the consummate touch of the artist. Choice natural delicacies are served; nothing for the mass market here. Selected organic products are teased apart and merged anew, in expertly calibrated combinations that strike the right note just for you. With the hands of a demigod our barman transmutes blueberries into a Sweet Dream, beneficial Japanese green tea into a Martini... Connoisseurs of hops and malt will find unfiltered, unpasteurised beers brewed from local barley and wheat, following age-old English techniques. Quench your thirst with deep draughts flecked with creamy foam, like stars against the velvet night... Our knowledgeable staff will guide you on a journey of discovery to new horizons of taste. Ordering a drink at Mayday is a geographical as well as an Epicurean experience, a voyage around the world, albeit a stationary one. You cast off from the purest of springs, tasting exclusive French vodka, ply to cold Scottish waters to sip the smoothest of whiskys, then drop anchor in tropical seas to quaff the best Bay Rums. When he chooses, the Captain opens the galley and offers you gargantuan sandwiches bursting with traditional Tuscan flavours.

Now the form ...

A radio beacon at 16r Via Dante beams out steadily and constantly, inviting wayfarers from far and near. Its light attracts the curious, and guides all homewards after a memorable visit. It is this radio beacon which shines forth on our story. It is our point of departure and of arrival. Here the wheel comes full circle. The history of radio is our theme, from the first broadcasts to high design cathode ray tubes. In Mayday you find radios from past times, times which are very much alive for us. Radios from the thirties as well as black and white photographs whose subjects could have inspired the Brothers Alinari, bear witness to bygone days. The interior of Mayday is thick with vintage memorabilia. When you think you have seen it all and your earliest childhood recollections have been evoked, don’t forget one more thing: cast your gaze up to the ceiling. You’ll be amazed at how many radios are hanging there, illuminated by a soft light that makes Mayday seem like a theatre where every member of the audience can take the stage and be tempted to play the lead. Everyone can make a contribution. Attention to detail is the hallmark of Mayday: indeed, there is a multitude of details everywhere. Nothing is left to chance. How could Marco, our alchemist, fail to be captivated by the thousands of flasks and valves suggesting ever-new permutations and combinations, notes inspiring wonderous inventions... The music every evening is unique. Remixed sound tracks provide an accompaniment that ripples into every corner and cocoons you; it’s for you to follow the melodies into the farthest nooks and crannies. The atmosphere is friendly and convivial, fostering new ideas and enthusiasms. It’s a crucible of talent where people spend time together, make plans, or just have fun. Mayday hosts artists’ installations and exhibitions, some permanent. Every artist who has come here has left a trace of his passage, for this is a place of cultural interaction. The premises are also a venue for personal showings and collections from emerging artists. Deep in the innermost recesses of the club designs for living and wearing take shape, seeds that will grow and express the spirit of Mayday. Mayday is an open laboratory in continuous evolution, inviting new projects, throbbing with inspiration and creativity. And here, dear reader, our story begins...

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Mayday Club
Our Roots

n medieval cities craftsmen created the guild system by forming associations organized by trade. Textile workers, masons, carpenters, carvers, glass workers and dyers united in the pursuit and defense of common goals.

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The history and traditions of Florence are where we find our inspiration...

The Apothecary

They were, and are, the true alchemists with extraordinary wisdom in an industry so fascinating, special, and mysterious. In the apothecary's shop you can find spices, herbs, extracts, essential oils, essences, food, chemicals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, dyes and more. The apothecary lies somewhere between a pharmacist, a grocer, a distiller, a perfumer and a winemaker, all-in-one. Wonderfully, this tradition still continues in Florence today.

Arts and Crafts Guilds

In medieval cities craftsmen created the guild system by forming associations organized by trade. Textile workers, masons, carpenters, carvers, glass workers and dyers united in the pursuit and defense of common goals. Each guild controlled secrets of traditionally imparted knowledge and technology, the "arts" or "mysteries" of their crafts. Independent studios were run by master craftsmen who took on apprentices to learn and work a specific trade. The guild system is given much credit for the extraordinary economic growth that allowed Florence to become one of the richest and most powerful city in medieval Europe.

Mayday Club, Cocktail Bar, Firenze
Mayday Club
Philosophy

We love to give to our members an extraordinary taste experience. We are passionate about chemistry, botany, perfumery, and food science. Our research is focused on the flavors of the Tuscan territory. The bar is oriented between Craft and Mixology.

More details

Our Philosophy

We love to give to our members an extraordinary taste experience.
We are passionate about chemistry, botany, perfumery, and food science.
Our research is focused on the flavors of the Tuscan territory.
The bar is oriented between Craft and Mixology.
Our ingredients are all natural, artisanal and not synthetic.

Learn something new every day

Cocktail school

1-4 pers.

The perfect gift for a cocktail lover or anyone looking for a unique experience in Florence.

Are you looking to add an exciting twist to your Florence vacation? Try one of our many cocktail classes for a super Tuscan experience! Spend an afternoon learning to mix like a Italian master in a beautiful cocktail lounge in the heart of Florence's historic center. Our fun, hands-on courses are great for anyone looking to expand their cocktail mixing repertoire, from the amateur enthusiast to professional bartenders.

No matter your level, your experience with master mixologist Marco Arduino will be rich in cocktail history, technique and the science of balancing flavor combinations. During the class you will use premium quality liqueurs, Tuscan grown juices, fresh fruit, herbs and spices. Classes are two hours long for groups of 1 to 4 people. The perfect gift for a cocktail lover or anyone looking for a unique experience in Florence.

email: info@maydayclub.it

Serving Awesomeness
since 2001

Lets get in contact

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Mayday Club

Via Dante Alighieri 16r
50122 Firenze
Tel. (+39) 055 2381290
info@maydayclub.it

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