Italy has a long tradition of making spirits and liqueurs.  However, you might not know it as Italy isn’t famed for their spirits or liqueurs.  In fact, when you think of Italy and spirits, you probably think of Grappa.  But, there is definitely more to Italian spirits than Grappa.   One of them is called noisette, which are liqueurs that are made by soaking nuts in alcohol and then distilling part of the infusion again.  Similar … Read more

Today, in the heyday of the cocktail renaissance, there is probably more adored spirit than the Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur. This liqueur is it’s baby brother and while the two share the same DNA with the use of the sour marasca cherry, they are very different. The Luxardo Cherry Liqueur is similar to a cherry brandy. The juice of the marasca cherries are fermented and then aged in oak barrels, which gives the Cherry Liqueur a … Read more

Last week I had the pleasure of sitting down with Justin Gallen, an Italian importer and one of his producers, Francesco Cirelli, a winemaker from the eastern Italian region of Abruzzo. This week Cirelli emphasizes the importance of organic and biodiversity farming, a concept he puts into practice back home in Italy.

Drink of the Week (DOTW): What types of wine does Cirelli produce?
Francesco Cirelli (FC): First of all, we are respectful of the … Read more

This week I had the pleasure of sitting down with Justin Gallen, an Italian importer and one of his producers, Francesco Cirelli, a winemaker from the eastern Italian region of Abruzzo. In the first part of this interview series, Gallen discusses his passion for wine and the qualities it must possess before he brings it to the United States.

Drink of the Week (DOTW): You’re a sommelier and Italian importer of fine wines. How did … Read more

Quattro Mani is the brainchild of Domaine Select Wine Estates.  It is an offering of second label wines from some of Italy and Slovenia’s best winemakers.  The 2010 Quattro Mani Barbera is made by Danilo Droco, one of Piedmont’s greatest winemakers.  Not only is the Quatro Mani Barbera a zippy little wine, it’s also a great price at $8.99 a bottle.  In fact, it’s one of the best wines priced under $10 that I have … Read more

I bet you didn’t know that cocktails are being made from Artichokes.  Over the last few years, Amari (bitter liqueurs) has swept the cocktail world! One its rising stars is Cynar, an Amaro from Italy made from artichokes with a few other herbs and plants thrown into the mix. Rather than hide its artichoke heritage, Cynar showcases it and the liqueur has a distinct artichoke note. Cynar is versatile. It can be served as an … Read more

There is a long tradition in Italy of families and the church producing their own special liqueurs through both distillation and infusion. This tradition is alive and well in Italy today but not as widespread as it was 100 or 500 years ago. If you are treated to a limoncello in many restaurants in Italy at the end of your meal, it’s likely that the proprietor devised the secret recipe himself or it had been … Read more

A favorite of bartenders across the globe! We have heard that bartenders test the skills of another bartender based on the quality of his or her Negroni.

Campari is a bitter spirit that is made from over 60 herbs and spices. If you try hard, you can pick out a few. For me, the easiest one to spot is the quinine, which is one of the herbs that gives Campari its bitter quality. Campari has … Read more

With the holidays upon us, it makes me think of Christmas and my wish lists of yore.  It also makes me ponder how my adult list would look.  I thought about it and thought about.  As an avowed oenophile, I decided that my wish list would be filled with amazing wines from around the world. The only drawback to my wishlist is that you might only get them if Santa had a very good year.… Read more

With much fanfare, Wine Spectator announced its top 100 wines of 2011. Not surprisingly, the list was dominated by American, Italian and French selections, as well as representations from a number of other countries, such as Spain, South Africa and Australia. The majority of wines were in the $50 to $100 range with the top price topping out at $175 and the lowest at $9. There was a wide variety of varietals and styles.

If … Read more