When Oenologist Roberto Dellavalle opened the Villa Isa distilleria in 1983 near Asti (Piemonte), he had extensive experience in making Grappa and wine. His idea was to make Grappa of the separate grapes; the so-called Monovitigno Grappa. For example, he uses the Moscato grape pulp. The Muscat (Moscato) grape is a somewhat sweeter white grape. That can be tasted well in this grappa. Soft, accessible and fruity. With a well-made Grappa, the wine is definitely recognizable. 42% Vol. |
In Mezzolombardo (Trentino), at the foot of the Italian Alps, the 4th generation of the Dolzan family makes their very traditional Grappa. Very special is that Dolzan only uses their own grapes from their own region. First, the wine is made and the pulp that remains after pressing is distilled to Grappa. This Grappa has not matured on wood, which explains the white colour. The Pinot Grigio grape gives friendly Grappa with soft fruit and floral notes. 40% Vol. |
From 1967 to 1977, Paolo Marolo taught at the famous oenologist school in Alba. In 1977, he opened his own Grappa Distillery in the same Alba, in the middle of the Barolo region in Piedmont. He was ahead of time, because he already made small batches of Grappa in small au bain marie boilers. The Barbera grape is a blue grape, mainly grown in Piedmont. The wine can be deep and powerful. The Grappa is also powerful with lots of red fruit and even something similar to beeswax. The more powerful the grape, the stronger the Grappa. 40% Vol. |
'The old country', or Terre Antiche, is a small Grappa label of Distilleria Dellavalle. For this Grappa, the grapes of the Amarone wine are used, a famous wine from the Valpolicella area in Veneto, were used. Amarone consists of several grape varieties which are slightly dried before pressing. This Amarone Grappa is therefore very strong and powerful. The colour of the Grappa tells us that a short ripening period took place on oak barrels, also visible from the addition to the name, Riserva. 42% Vol. |
This Grappa is made from the Nebbiolo grape, the basis of all Barolo wines. Barolo is one of the most beautiful Italian wines and is deep red and powerful. The blue Nebbiolo grape has a lot of tannins, so it is not the easiest grape to make wine of. Grappa, made from the pulp of this grape, will also be very powerful and bitter; careful distilling and good filtering is therefore of great importance. Villa Isa matured this Grappa on oak (affinata). The powerful flavour combines perfectly with the wood. The result is a rich and solid Grappa. 42% Vol. |
The white Chardonnay grape grows all over the world. This is why it has become a popular white wine. In Piedmont, a fruity and sturdy Chardonnay is made. The Grappa that is made from it is therefore a very popular one. A few days or weeks after the pulp goes to the distillery after pressing, the produced alcohol is steamed from the pulp. Afterwards, Grappa is made from it. The Chardonnay Grappa is fresh and characterized by a light apple acidity. A fine Grappa after a solid meal. 42% Vol. |
The Zanin Distilleria in Zugliano (Veneto) has been making Grappa since 1895. Zanin started early on with Monovitigno Grappa, which means nothing more than that the Grappa is made from one kind of grape. After pressing the grapes by the winemaker, the pulp goes to the distillery. The alcohol is steamed out of the pulp and Grappa is distilled from it. The white Prosecco grape is quite light and easy, which is easily recognizable in the Grappa. Fresh fruit tones with a little pepper. Unfurtunately, you won't find bubbles in this Grappa, like in Prosecco wine. 40% Vol. |
The Dolcetto grape is a well-known blue grape in northern Italy, which grows especially around Alba. The name means 'little sweet'. In the wine, this can only be slightly recognized. Paolo Marolo began his Distilleria in Alba (Piemonte) in 1977 and immediately began to distil all kinds of grape varieties separately from each other in small au bain-marie bowls, as did the Dolcetto grape. The Grappa of this grape is full and powerful with many fruity and floral notes. This Grappa has not matured on wood, therefore it is white. Grappa of the Dolcetto grape is quite rare. 44% Vol. |
In 1897 Orazio Nonino establishes his own distillery in Ronchi di Pavia. In 1933 the distillery moves from Ronchi to Percoto. Here, the Noninos introduce their “Aquavitae Optima”; a test which would lead to the creation of Monovitigno (single variety) Grappa. This grappa is distilled from the pulp of the Chardonnay grape immediately after pressing and fermentation. In order to guarantee the best quality of the distillates, Nonino only produces during the wine harvest. 41% Vol. |
Grappa producers are increasingly starting to release much older Grappa. Slowly but surely something like a premium range is emerging. Roberto Dellavalle, who opened his distillery near Asti (Piemonte) in 1983, has been doing this for some time; he likes to bring quality to the market. This Amarone Grappa has matured for 36 months on huge oak barrels. After that, the Grappa was matured for another 36 months on small barrels, in which Amarone wine was aged. The colour of this Grappa comes mainly from the last maturation. The Amarone is powerful, fruity and has soft wood notes. 42% Vol. |
The brothers Michele and Paolo Dolzan are the 4th generation in the Villa de Varda (Mezzolombardo, Trentino) distilleria. What makes this house unique is that they only use grapes from their own land. So they make their wine and their Grappa from the same grapes. The pulp enters the boilers within half an hour after pressing, so there is little or no contamination in the pulp. The Teroldego is a typical Trentino grape; very suitable for a sturdy Grappa. Villa de Varda also releases a white variety, and this Riserva, which has matured about half a year on oak wood. 40% Vol. |
The town of Asti (Piemonte) has become famous for its Moscato d'Asti, a slightly sparkling sweet white wine. Roberto Dellavalle likes to make Grappa out of it. The Muscat (Moscato) grape makes for a slightly sweet, soft and spicy Grappa. This Moscato has matured for a year, hence the beautiful color. The reason why so much Grappa is made in Italy is actually very logical; the state taxes the grape pulp. Wine makers therefore sell their pulp to Grappa distillers. The Grappa distillers have a wide range of pulp and can make more than enough Grappa. 40% Vol. |
Cointreau is a so-called' triple sec', produced in Saint-Barthélemy-d' Anjou, France. The original name was' Curaçao Blanco Triple Sec'. The Cointreau distillery was founded in 1849 by pastry bakers Adolphe and Edouard-Jean Cointreau. Triple Sec is made from dried orange peels of up to 50 different kinds of oranges. The peels are soaked in alcohol, so that the essential oils from the peel give off their taste. Cointreau is drunk as an aperitif and digestive and is part of a number of well-known cocktails. 40% Vol. |
At the foot of the Italian Alps in Mezzolombardo, the small family business Villa de Varda is located. In addition to a selection of Grappas, they have a small-scale production of Limoncino. They buy lemons from Sorrento, the home of Limoncello, which is exactly the same product as Limoncino. When the lemons arrive at Villa de Varda, they are hand-peeled by the old ladies from the village. These peels are soaked for 8 weeks in pure grape alcohol containing 8% Grappa. The result is a pure intense Limoncino with the beautiful, soft lemon flavor. 28% Vol. |
The elderflower for this liqueur is picked by hand in the French Alps. The company St-Germain was founded in 2007 by Robert Cooper, who died in 2016 at the age of 39; The brand St-Germain is owned by Bacardi. Praised by The New York Times as having "almost single-handedly invigorated the moribund liqueur category", this liqueur won the Grand Gold Medal at the Monde Selection in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and the Chairman Award in the Liqueur category. 20% Vol. |
In 1974, Fred and Helène van Zuidam started their distillery in Baarle Nassau, The Netherlands. From the very first day on, they only wanted to make quality. Now that years later, their two sons have taken over the baton, that quality principle is still at the top of the list. A nice example is their honey Whisky liqueur. Dutch honey from the Brabant region and Zuidam's own Millstone whisky with some herbs and spices ensure a balanced and very soft liqueur. A special detail is that for this liqueur, their peated whisky is used. This ensures that the whisky can be recognized in the liqueur. 40% Vol. |
An Ultra Premium Ginger Liqueur on the basis of Cognac. This liqueur is made with vanilla pods from Tahiti, ginseng from Tunisia, Provence honey and young, fresh ginger from Vietnam. This, combined with cognac from the 1 st Cru, the Grande Champagne - the heart of the Cognac region-, the oldest of which is an XO of more than 10 years old. The ginger gives a bite to the drink. The Cognac comes forward only in the aftertaste. A very special liqueur. 28% Vol. |
Cognac and orange; that's the golden combination of Grand Marnier. When Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle created the recipe in 1880, he could never have imagined how much success his drink would achieve. The oranges still come from the Caribbean and are of the Bigaradia breed. The oranges are picked when they are not ripe yet. Then the oils in the skin still have the most aromas. The peels are dried in the sun and later in France soaked in alcohol. Together with matured Cognac and herbs, the beautiful beverage Grand Marnier is created. 40% Vol. |
There are many brands of amaretto, but Disaronno Originale is the best-selling and claims to be the original. Commercial production started in the 18th century in the apothecary of the Reina family, yet Disaronno Originale is said to have been first created in 1525. Disaronno Originale works well in a variety of classic cocktails, like a Sour or Fizz, but is also delightful with just a few ice cubes. 28% Vol. |
On the French island of Martinique some very traditional Rum distilleries are located. The most famous of this is Clement, since 1887. Here a so-called Agricole Rhum is produced. An ancient recipe of the island is the Creole Shrubb, a derivative of the famous Grand Marnier. Instead of Cognac, they use their rum on Martinique, with Creole herbs and dried orange peels. The result is a soft intense liqueur with warm rum notes. For the real bartender it's often one of his secret ingredients. Also very good, pure and slightly chilled. 40% Vol. |
In Roman times, in Carthage, there was already a kind of liqueur, Liqvor Mirabilis, which meant 'miraculous liquid'. That Elixer is the source of inspiration for Licor 43's recipe, launched by the Zamora family in 1946. Citrus fruits, vanilla and spices form the basis of this liqueur, which according to the makers contains exactly 43 ingredients. The liqueur is softly sweet with clear citrus notes. After Spain, Licor 43, has conquered the whole world with a sophisticated marketing campaign. 31% Vol. |
Although Chambord, as a brand, started in 1982, this liqueur was already made in the 17th century in honor of a visit of King Louis XIV at Chambord, located in the French Loire Valley. During the preparation, whole raspberries and blackberries are distilled in French cognac, using honey, herbs and spices, vanilla from Madagascar and citrus from Morocco. After that, the remaining fruit is pressed for the natural sugars and juice. 16.5% Vol. |
Tia Maria means 'Aunt Maria' and is a Jamaican coffee liqueur based on rum. The base is the famous Blue Mountain coffee bean from Jamaica to which vanilla sticks and spices are added. In the end, everything is mixed with Jamaican Rum. According to tradition, it is a very old recipe that would have been taken along by the servant of a Spanish girl who fled from Jamaica around 1700. It took until the 1950s before the recipe was rediscovered. Tia Maria is a sweet soft coffee liqueur. 20% Vol. |
Cartron works closely with some traditional cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast. Here the best beans are selected for their cocoa liquor. In France, these cocoa beans are lightly roasted and chopped and distilled. Distillation releases all flavours and aromas. The result is a very intense cocoa alcohol. After that, matured Cognac is added, which provides a soft basis in which the deep cocoa flavours are very nicely displayed. Recommended for the true chocolate lover! 25% Vol. |