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5218 Lawton Avenue
Oakland, CA 94114

510-654-9159

Oliver McCrum Wines has been importing small production Italian wine and distributing to fine retail and restaurant establishes throughout California since 1994. Over time, our portfolio of producers has steadily grown to over 45 producers from 15 different regions of Italy. We look for typical Italian wines with clarity and freshness, usually made from indigenous Italian grape varieties using clean, transparent winemaking techniques and no obvious use of oak. 

Blog

Who Needs Chartreuse?

Michele Boscia

As Lisa Futterman points out in her latest article for The Alcohol Professor, the “cool kids love Chartreuse” right now.

In recent years, supply problems have made Chartreuse harder and harder to come by so as a favor to her readers, Futterman lists several alternatives for cocktail mixing and straight sipping, two of which are part of our spirits portfolio—Bordiga’s Centum Herbis and Alpe’s Genepy—and we are excited to dig into her findings.

The Bordiga Centum Herbis is a fantastic straight sipper with its Alpine freshness and complex recipe of dozens of herbs, but is also cocktail game changer - try it in a Bordiga Last Word or fizz. The Alpe Genepy—as Futterman points out—plays very well with gin and we think it can more than hold its own as a highball.

Futterman also correctly highlights the importance of the Alpine botanical genepy in a Chartreuse substitute and so we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the Bordiga Genepy, another superb Alpine spirit. Its high toned floral and citrus notes make it a perfect match for a white negroni.

Check out our Make a Cocktail page for more recipes for all of these Alpine gems!