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I want to start 2021 on a sweet note. I need something to warm my soul. And who could say no to something sweet? A little Punch Abruzzo will be the perfect way to usher in 2021.  Punch Abruzzo is an Italian liquor that originated in 1907 in Borello, Italy. It was something the town’s mayor, Antonio Evangelista, concocted to keep warm during cold wi...

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Any resemblance between Campari and the ruby red Aperitivo in the chef Patrick Miller’s new line of Faccia Brutto Italian-style spirits stops at the color. Faccia Brutto’s Aperitivo flowers with citric and herbal complexity, while the popular global brand has almost no aroma and is too sweet. The Fernet Pianta, a bitter take on Fernet-Branca, is st...

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If we were to find a good Cinderella story in the world of spirits (of the liquid sort), grappa might just be the one the slipper fits. Thought of for centuries as the poor man’s drink, the 20th century has seen grappa elevated to connoisseur worthy heights as a distinguished distillate…and the fairy tale continues.  If Italian digestives, those af...

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While Italians have longed appreciated Fernet-Branca, some people have shied away from its distinctive flavor. Although the 27 herbs, roots and spices create this special secretive fernet formula, the iconic Italian liqueur can reveal itself. In just three sips, an adventurous flavor journey is revealed. For some people, they have long stared a dar...

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If you go to an Italian restaurant – a good one, anyway – you’ll notice at the end of the menu, near the coffee and desserts, a selection of after-dinner drinks. Often, the heading is amari, from the Italian word for ‘bitter’… but there might be any number of sweet things – like limoncello or sambuca – or fiery things – like grappa. All of these ar...

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 Disaronno International has announced that Colangelo & Partners, a fine wine, spirits and food-focused integrated communications agency, will be its agency of record in the United States for the company's imported portfolio from Sicily: the Duca di Salaparuta Group (Corvo, Duca di Salaparuta and Florio Marsala), to develop and execute a comprehens...

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For centuries, green walnuts were collected around the Summer Solstice, and on June 24, for the feast of Saint John the Baptist, in preparation for an autumnal batch of the walnut liqueur. In the Middle Ages, the storied liqueur, known as “Nocino” in Italy, was often associated with women sorceresses who gathered the fruit by night and brewed the f...

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Italian spirits have undergone a renaissance in the US. Though many Italian distillers have sought a Denominazione di origine controllata (D.O.C.) for numerous amaro styles, which would restrict the official category to Italy (like Champagne in France), many spirits producers across the US try their hand at making bitter botanical spirits. There ar...

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Here’s the short sell on Cynar: It’s an Italian amaro that’s been around forever. It’s loaded with flavor. It’s low-ABV. It’s versatile. It’s consistent. And it’s accessible across the USA. Cool? You’re a Cynar (pronounced chee-nar) fan now? Awesome. You can leave and go buy a bottle, if you’d like. Or you could stay for a minute while I wax poetic...

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This summer, a Spritz blitz took over the bars and restaurants of the big apple. New Yorkers lapped up the scarlet Italian aperitif with abandon and bought bottles of premixed Negroni cocktails for their picnics in the park. Now, New York City is a brew with another Italian trend, the digestivo culture, with the embrace of amaro, an Italian liqueur...

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