Riding the gin wave, a large portion of distilleries started with a native botanical gin and used that as a stepping stone to build a brand before their aged spirits could be released.
Products
For consistency of flavour, Karu Distillery decants its barrels in a solera-style vatting system. This ensures that Outcask Rum’s flavour characteristics are married together, with each batch sharing flavour DNA from the original.
“Fernet-Branca is not only an amaro… it is a lot more! It is history, family, the hospitality shot, the bartender handshake, Italian excellence and an inclusive product. There is just nothing else like it.”
Another highlight of our trip was heading to Cocconato in Asti to the Bava Distillery which houses one of our favourite Italian brands, Cocchi. A family-run company to this day, we were given a guided tour by Francesca Bava and were joined by her uncle (and Master Distiller) Paolo Bava for the tasting section of the tour.
In a small tasting room in the middle of the factory floor, we are treated to a tasting of the range, everything from the full range of Vecchia Romagna (including the relatively Riserva Anniversario – a unique blend of old and new brandies the youngest of which had spent 23 years in oak) but with a big focus on the Amaro Montenegro.
Between 1840 and 1888 Carpano’s reputation grew and a glass of Carpano became the aperitif par excellence and Turin’s favourite drink. In 2001, the Branca family acquired Carpano.
Multi award-winning independent bottlers That Boutique-y Whisky Company are embarking once again on a tour Down Under with the release of their next batch of limited edition spirits from the best of Australia’s distillers – Return to Oz.
“It’s not an old-school product with 100 years of history, as it’s not a new world vermouth with an unusual compound in it, or an over-complicated structure. It’s my idea of a vermouth: traditional, talking about the core range, and modern, such as the Sakura and the Kopi.”
‘Aperitivo’ originates from the Latin word ‘Aperire’ meaning ‘to open your appetite’, and the word is evocative of Aperol, which was first introduced at the International Trade Fair of Padova, a lively and dynamic University town at the heart of Veneto
All the prep and hard work is done downstairs in the bespoke lab and kitchen. This is where they have a big ex-bourbon cask for ageing cocktails. At the time we were there a Brooklyn is in the barrel. Delicious.
In the bowels of the building is where you find the productions of everything from their brandy, Carpano, and of course, the Fernet Branca and Fernet Menthe. It’s a part of the building that is usually off limits for tours but it was so interesting to see the scale of the production
An avid agave spirits fan, Hayley Dixon suggests subbing in Angostura Reserva for tequila in a Paloma. “Simply drop the salt, and you have a tall and refreshing summer serve that is super simple to make,” she says.