Paesani Genziana Gran Sasso

Ask anyone from Abruzzo about genziana and you'll get a knowing smile. It's one of the region's more traditional liqueurs, and the Paesani family puts it best themselves: if you're from Abruzzo you love it, and if you're not but know someone who is, you keep asking them for some. Gentian root is the whole point here. Certified mountain gentian is infused in grain neutral spirit, then diluted and naturally sweetened, ending up at a gentle 30% ABV. The same family has run Paesani since 1961. The founding brothers, Ermanno and Pietro, were skilled foragers and craftsmen, and the workshop sits on a hillside in the hamlet of Collevecchio. The view is the Gran Sasso d'Italia, the highest peak in the Apennines, which also gives the bottle its name. Today Antonio Paesani and his son Mirco still make everything by hand. It's delicately bitter rather than punishing, which makes it the right pour after a rich meal or a wintry afternoon of skiing. If you love amaro but have never had a straight gentian liqueur, this is the real thing.