Pictured: The Deadline, a new summer cocktail at Sage restaurant. Photo by Andrew Fabian.

In an intimate media tasting that took place in their brightly lit third-floor event space, Sage staff unveiled a tantalizing array of Chef Chris Covelli’s prototypes of dishes from new, far-flung places that will add even more variety to Sage’s global repertoire. From Spain, an Andalusian gazpacho with a tomato tang and a light, garlicky aftertaste—a refreshing dish for sweaty days to come. Sweden enters the Sage experiment by way of Swedish meatballs that can be ordered a la carte or added to a salad. An Asian-inspired sea bass, cooked and served in clear parchment paper, features a delicate cut of fish submerged in Covelli’s expertly prepared miso broth that shows off his culinary experience in Japan. “We want to touch every country,” he says.

The pursuit of elevated dining also makes its way up the elevator to the rooftop bar, where spirits alchemist Connor Bert has devised inspired cocktails like the Ciel de Lavande, a refined gin cocktail topped with lavender and rose that satisfies as much as an aromatherapy potion as it does as a smile-inducing beverage. Bert also showed off his titular flair with The Deadline, featuring a house-infused butterfly pea flower gin medley, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice and rhubarb bitters.

Pictured: The Deadline, a new summer cocktail at Sage restaurant. Photo by Andrew Fabian.

Sage, 1216 1st St., Sarasota, 941-445-5660.