Varnelli Amaro Dell'Erborista (1L)

Aromas of nearly stewed ripe fruit and sultana, with scents of gentian, rhubarb, sandalwood, and honey.  On the palate it is dry, bitter and warm. Its tannic structure is powerful: somewhat drying to the palate, it is countered by intense salivation at the side walls of the mouth. Hard notes due to acids and tannins are dominant. Strong aroma of spices, rhubarb, sandalwood.

The Varnelli distillery, in Italy’s Marche, was founded in 1868 by Girolamo Varnelli. He used his expertise in his region’s native, medicinal plants to develop numerous recipes for distillates and bitters, including Amaro Sibilla—once valued as an antimalarial and antipyretic. His son, Antonio, developed additional recipes, in particular the anisette, and was largely responsible for widely diffusing the reputation of Varnelli products throughout Italy. Today, the distillery is in its fourth generation of family ownership and operation. It follows the same historical recipes using native herbs and plants. All ingredients are still ground with mortar and pestle; fires are log-fueled, and the entire process is still executed by hand.