This week, Bill and I are joined by Filippo Conforti - Founder and CEO of Commerce Layer - an api-first commerce platform that Filippo and his team founded in 2017. Filippo joined us to mix up some Fauxgronis (a non-alchoholic Negroni) and talk about what Fillipo has learned as a commerce architect and developer, and how that has impacted his vision for Commerce Layer.
Prior to Commerce Layer, Filippo was the lead eCommerce architect at Gucci, where he focused on modernizing Gucci’s digital and omnichannel commerce capabilities - and became inspired to build a better solution for others to leverage within their businesses. Fillipo also publishes a great blog, CommerceForDevs that you may want to check out.
Bill & I enjoyed getting to know Filippo and had a wonderful, insightful conversation with a great mocktail in hand! So pour yourself something to sip along with us and enjoy the conversation.
Cheers!
Chapters:
Introductions & Fauxgronis!
The origin story of Commerce Layer
Enabling Composable Architectures
Decoupling Monolithic Systems with Micro Frontends
The Business Value of an API-First Approach
The Benefits of a Headless Approach
The Blending of Physical and Digital Retail
Supporting Alternative Use Cases
Conversational Commerce
Enabling Selling and Enriching the Experience
The Future of Software Craftsmanship
This week’s mocktail - a Fauxgroni
This week we each made different variations of a non-alcoholic Negroni - or what I like to call a Fauxgroni. Whether you or someone you are mixing for are not drinking alcohol right now, for the next hour, today, this month, or forever… it is great to have non-alcoholic options to make a simple and fast NA Negroni on hand. I like to drink these in the afternoons while I’m still working. I get the relaxation and flavor without the downside! And while there is a bit of sugar in some of these NA options - such as the Wilderton and Roots NA “spirits” we used in this Fauxgroni - there is not much.
The resulting mocktail is intriguing and balanced, capturing much of the layered bitterness and complexity of the classic. A splash of sparkling water adds a refreshing lightness to the drink - almost evoking the effervescence you'd get from an Americano cocktail. For a different spin, consider adding a few dashes of non-alcoholic bitters or even a drop of orange citrus oil to boost the aromatic complexity. Herbs like rosemary or thyme muddled lightly can also impart a bold earthiness and add the herbaceous notes that gin adds in a fully-loaded Negroni, helping to recreate the depth we often seek in them. You can certainly also add in an NA-gin - such as Seedlip - but I am less a fan of these and don’t feel they honestly add much.
Mix one of these and enjoy - and as a result you will open your mixology aperture to some great, simple, fast, NA options for those you entertain and mix for as well.
Cheers!
Fauxgroni Mocktail Spec, Serves One
1 oz (~30 ml) - Non-alcoholic orange bitter (Wilderton Non-Alcoholic Bittersweet Aperitivo recommended)
1 oz (~30 ml) - Non-alcoholic vermouth or amaro (Roots NA sweet vermouth or Lucano Amaro Zero recommended)
.5 oz (~30 ml) - plain sparkling mineral water (such as Topo Chico or San Pelegrino)
Pinch of sea salt
Garnish - Orange slice
The process:
Add your non-alcoholic bitter and “vermouth” into a mixing glass. Add ice and stir. Strain into a chilled coupe or rocks glass. Top Lightly squeeze the orange slice into the drink to express a bit of juice and garnish.
As always, it’s great to have you here! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share, rate (it helps!), and let us know your thoughts. We love to hear from our listeners.
Be well, be safe, and here is to good business! Cheers! - Brian & Bill
Cocktails & Commerce™ is a wholly owned subsidiary of StrategyēM, LLC.
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