Bar Agricole x Bordiga
Bar agricole x Bordiga: A Collaboration
Bar Agricole has joined again with Bordiga Distillery of Piedmont, champions of Turin's nineteenth-century aperitivo tradition, for three spirits made the old way. With alpine botanicals gathered between 500 and 1,700 meters, sweetened only with honey from the same elevations, free of colorants, extracts, and industrial sugars, these offerings utilize grappa from the region; a golden amaro and two vermouths, each truly of its place.
I first encountered Bordiga as a buyer for Bar Agricole ten years ago, finding enormous inspiration at the production facility in Cuneo and, especially, the agriturismo in the Alpine town of Elva, where many of the botanicals used in Bordiga’s bottlings are foraged and cultivated . We were thrilled by the integrity of the products: real macerations and wines with provenance, and continuity from 1888 to the present.
Over the years, we have enjoyed collaborating with Bordiga, first as buyers and now as co-producers. Together, we have produced two iterations of vermouth and amaro that honor Bordiga’s historically significant role in the emergence of aperitivo culture in nearby Turin. They are made with regional botanicals, sweetened with local honey, and built upon macerations in locally produced grappa rather than neutral spirits manufactured on a massive scale by international distillers.
We believe our pursuit of this ideal produces bottles more like those one might have opened in the nineteenth century, bottles offering a more specific sense of place and season, and which are unlike anything else on the market.
Click here to read about Bar Agricole’s solo project in California.
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Spirits:
Golden Alpine Amaro
This old-fashioned amaro begins with Piedmontese grappa as the base spirit and a focused selection of botanicals. We temper the bitter qualities of the maceration with only a little mountain honey and together have produced a finely balanced, sophisticated amaro that offers something for all who imbibe. The honey lifts and melds with the other botanicals, and adds freshness and flavor of its own, without cloying sweetness. We are grateful to Bordiga Distillery for their collaboration on this timeless rendition.
white Vermouth
Made from Cortese grown in Piemonte and macerations with grappa distilled in the region, this vermouth uses many Alpine botanicals and wild honey collected at the same elevation. Hyper-local, it suggests how vermouth may have tasted centuries ago, when these aromatized wines were truly of a place.
Technically dry, the palate offers herbal complexity as well as body and texture and can be used in a multitude of cocktail applications. We aren’t aware of a comparable product on the market and are excited at the possibilities it offers our bartender partners and vermouth enthusiasts around the country.
Red Vermouth
Nebbiolo's natural color, tannin, and acidity shine in this rare vermouth. We complete the macerations with a locally produced grappa, and combine them with local Nebbiolo. Honey from the same elevations softens the bitterness from the herbs and tannins in the wine. We are particularly proud of this collaboration with Bordiga Distillery, originators of Turin's nineteenth-century aperitivo tradition.