Eric Dominijanni is a extremely educated renaissance man who survived the likes of Fallujah, beat Bobby Flay and created a mix of Scotch whiskey, regardless of not being an enormous drinker a lot of his life. The Miami resident hopes to hit 10,000 instances in gross sales this yr of his Fior Scotch model. It has received double gold medals on the San Francisco World Spirits Competitors and New York World Spirits Competitors, together with a 93 ranking at The New York Worldwide Spirits Competitors.
There’s one other entire attention-grabbing backstory, although, earlier than we get to his Fior Scotch model.
Dominijanni was born to an Italian father and black mom and mentioned he was an enormous nerd who preferred cooking exhibits rising up in Queens. “When my friends were reading comic books, I was reading “The Iliad,” I used to be studying ‘The Odyssey.” … Hercules was my Superman; Achilles was my Batman after I was a child as a result of my mother had a classical training.”
His mother was a dance teacher, so he took ballet and faucet dancing, however in his neighborhood doing that was a great way to get crushed up. As a substitute, he received into martial arts, which really shares some strategies with dance. “It was my reason to be,” he says.
He was additionally captain of his highschool monitor group and ran in faculty as effectively, capturing some faculty information alongside the best way. “My buddies best described me as a nerd who can catch you and beat you up,” he says.
He took an interest within the navy simply earlier than faculty commencement and visited a Navy recruiter and talked about being a medic as an eventual pathway to medical faculty, however realized he didn’t like the concept of sitting round a hospital.
“I was like, no, I actually really do want to get dirty and have a gun and all that other great stuff,” he remembers.
As he walked out, one other recruiter’s voice boomed out, “Do you think you have what it takes to be a Marine?” Dominijanni says he responded, “‘Do you know who I am? I’ve been training in kung fu since I was seven years old. I could beat you up right now.’ He completely read me as an alpha male and suckered me. So, I joined the Marine Corps.”
He was with the Corps on the push from Kuwait to Baghdad and was stationed in Camp Fallujah, which was the Wild West of Iraq, he says. Later, he lived off base in Fallujah and was a liaison, coaching the police within the area. He additionally spent a short while in Afghanistan.
Whereas he was with the Marines, he entered some native cooking competitions in North Carolina, he says. “And probably the greatest thing that could ever happen to me in my life was I went up against Bobby Flay on ‘Throwdown with Bobby Flay,’ Season one, Episode five.”
The outline for the episode says, “Eric Dominijanni, a.k.a. Captain D., is a proud Marine with a mission — to grill his award-winning steaks as a morale booster to his men. What nobody knows is that Bobby Flay will roll up and challenge him to a steak Throwdown.”
Dominijanni says, “Not only did I go up against a god, I won.”
The Meals Community supplied exhibits and Weber Grills wished Dominijanni as a spokesman.
“But I can’t leave my Marines. I’m about to go to Iraq,” he remembers. “I’ve been training with these guys. Well, what kind of person would I be if I left? So, I wound up saying, ‘OK, I’m going to go to culinary school eventually.’”
After the Corps, he went to Johnson & Wales and wound up learning in Singapore and Thailand, his curiosity in Asian meals impressed by his first girlfriend, who was Chinese language. He deliberate to check in New Mexico, Cyprus and North Africa, however Covid hit and shattered his plans. After a chronic wait, he determined to go to pursue a doctorate in training on the College of Miami.
However, there was this long-time curiosity in Scotch. It began when he went to a bar and requested for rum. The bartender instructed him it was a Scotch bar. “So, I was like, teach me. He said, ‘What?’ I pulled out my credit card, threw it on the table. I was like, ‘Teach me – just don’t rip me off. I don’t know anything about Scotch.’”
The bartender gave an introductory course on various kinds of Scotch. Dominijanni received the bug and jumped proper into it, constructing his personal assortment.
For somebody who makes his personal ice cream, sausage, salami and beer, it was inevitable that he was going to make his personal Scotch mix, he says. He did the blending himself at first and it was a success at his dinner events.
He thought of how his uncle Luciano had somebody make wine for him and the way his former colonel within the Corps did the identical with cigars. A bell went off in his head and Dominijanni turned to a longtime buddy from faculty, James Landis, whose household has been within the wine and spirits enterprise for 4 generations.
Dominijanni gave him a bottle of his favourite selfmade mix, however nothing occurred however discuss for just a few months. Then, Dominijanni acquired three tasting containers. The second appeared like a reproduction of his mix, made in Scotland.
At first, Dominijanni simply received small batches for himself and his mates, who then urged him to start out promoting it.
Landis mentioned he preferred the Scotch sufficient to purchase it himself. They went into enterprise collectively, however they wanted a reputation.
At first, Domijanni didn’t like Landis’ suggestion of “fior.” The phrase means flower in Italian—he wasn’t promoting wine, in any case—however Fior means “true” in Scottish Gaelic, with a connotation of pure and clear that Dominijanni embraced.
Domijanni’s buddies and former Marines typically supported his efforts by shopping for a number of bottles and instances, many paying a bit additional to get their names engraved.
Fior is on the market in New York, New Jersey, South Carolina and on-line, plus by means of some Scotch of the Month golf equipment. He expects Fior Scotch to be obtainable in Florida quickly at Complete Wines & Extra. A straightforward option to get it’s to go to www.fiorscotch.com the place it sells for $41.99. Among the proceeds profit veterans’ causes.
Fior Scotch has already bought 5,000 instances, and Domijanni desires to hit 10,000 this yr.
Domijanni says consuming Scotch is like an occasion, akin to enjoyable with mates and smoking cigars. There may be some fact to the stereotype that it’s loved by older skilled males, he says.
He like his Scotch straight up, however says it’s actually as much as the imbiber as as to if you add some water, put in an ice dice for only a bit to relax it or combine it in a drink. The Fior web site has recipes.
What’s his recommendation to a novice Scotch drinker? “I would say the first thing you need to do is forget that it’s a drink. Remember that it’s an event to get your mind, your body, your soul into drinking a scotch—be surrounded by good friends and family. That’s it.”
