About Il Gusto di Amalfi:

Our friend and winemaker from the Amalfi Coast, Luigi Reale, introduced us to Valentino Esposito and Mario Anastasio, who make our liqueurs under the label ‘Il Gusto di Amalfi.’  Their small facility, which looks like a large kitchen, is in the little town of Praiano, just down the coast from Positano. This area is famous for growing amazing citrus, especially lemons; these lemons are grown by Mario and his family and friends.

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Spirits:

Limoncello

Most fine Italian spirits are great because of the way they balance different components, but limoncello is different. Limoncello is a pure infusion of lemon peel in alcohol, and the quality of the limoncello depends on the quality of the lemons.

 ‘Il Gusto di Amalfi’ is a tiny company that takes organically-grown lemons from the hillsides of the Amalfi Coast (near Tramonti), peels them by hand with potato-peelers in small batches, and macerates them in pure grain alcohol in stainless steel vessels that look like very small wine tanks. (Commercial limoncello is sometimes bitter, a sign that the pith of the fruit has been accidentally included with the zest; hand-peeling avoids this.) The varieties of lemon, both local, are Sfusato Amalfitano and Zagara Bianca, and the groves near Positano are owned and farmed by Mario Anastasio’s friends and family. This limoncello is a pure expression of a single excellent raw material, and that’s it. Drink cold but not iced as a digestivo. I bet this would also make an excellent Tom Collins with some good Gin. 

This Limoncello is unfiltered, and some oil or sediment may separate out, please shake before serving. There are no preservatives, coloring agents, or stabilizers in this Limoncello.

MANDARINO/MANDARIN LIQUEUR

A pure infusion of  Mandarin orange peels of the Marzatico variety, grown organically on the hillsides of the Amalfi coast, picked in season between January and April, peeled by hand, the peel immediately macerated in pure grain alcohol for 3-4 days. This is the purest expression of perfect mandarin oranges; the citrus here in the south of Italy is amazing, very different from what we see here in the US, and the quality of the fruit is the whole story with this kind of liqueur. Great digestivo; drink cold, but not iced. Try a dash of it with good Prosecco, too, as an aperitivo.

This liqueur is unfiltered, please shake before serving. There are no preservatives, coloring agents or stabilizers in this Mandarino.

FINOCCHIETTO SELVATICO/WILD FENNEL SEED LIQUEUR

Wild fennel grows profusely on the Amalfi coast, as it does in California. The seeds from the tall plants are harvested by hand in October when the seed-heads are dry, dried, sifted, macerated in pure alcohol for about 40 days, then blended with sugar and bottled. Great digestivo (substances found in fennel-seed are said to be good for the digestion) and craft cocktail ingredient. Drink cold but not iced.

This fennel liqueur is unfiltered, please shake before serving. There are no preservatives, coloring agents or stabilizers in this Finocchietto.

alloro (bay laurel)

Due to the mild coastal climate, Mario is able to gather the laurel for the Alloro yearround. And because of this is he makes extremely small batches - just 300 liters, or about 400 bottles. The bright green color is a result of the high percentage of essential oils in the liqueur and the fact that so little is produced. Usually drunk as a digestivo, we prefer to see it in a cocktail where it’s herbaceous, almost olive oil-like consistency and flavor add density and complexity in drinks that trend towards the classic.

This bay leaf liqueur is unfiltered, please shake before serving. There are no preservatives, coloring agents or stabilizers in this Alloro.

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more information:

Visit the il Gusto di Amalfi’s website