This ancient recipe traces its origins back to the late 1800’s. Made by infusing Barolo wine, aged in old oak casks with a variety of herbs collected in and around the Alps. Including China Calissaya bark, clove, gentian, rhubarb, ginger, orange, juniper, mint, bay, and vanilla, and a few more aromatic herbs tossed in for good luck.
The result is a dense fortified wine – An amber-coloured tonic with a red tinge, filling the mouth with aromatic notes and a bittersweet aftertaste from the China bark. (That for me is part of its charm)
Be warned, the first sip is a surprise. It has a bold complex flavour that is both bitter and sweet and bitter again, this is not a desert wine rather an after dinner drink to enjoy in a wine glass at the end of a meal it is powerful almost medicinal in flavour. However, once you have swallowed that first drop, you will sip away whilst enjoying Dark Chocolate for the rest of the evening. (I found it rather addictive at 16% ABV)
Once again, treat it as a digestive, as this was once used as a cure-all.
Michael Lillis
