A Golden Negroni for a Perfect Aperitivo

In the Piedmont region of northwest Italy, at the foot of the Alps, Distillerie Francoli collects botanicals along Mount Noveis for their all-natural liqueurs. From the mountainside, they gather gentian, wormwood, genepi, and germander and infuse them into their spirits, blending by hand and taste. To craft their UN-RED bitter, chinchona bark, rhubarb, vanilla, and sweet and tart orange are all layered in, coming together in a golden-hued aperitif. The lingering bitterness feels ideally balanced, dripping with alpine flavors, and none of the heavy syrup character that comes with so many of its red and white counterparts. It captures that moment of opposing forces in perfect, albeit temporary harmony; sweet into bitter, day into night, when a cocktail shared with friends can resuscitate one from a long day and spark a beautiful evening.

 

Across the way, in the northeastern region of Friuli, bordering Slovenia near the Dolomite Mountains, Fred - né Federico, is a young producer of botanical spirits: foraging, growing, and sourcing a wide range of herbs to fuel his unique creations. Matching his methods of extraction to each botanical (alcoholic distillation, steam distillation, cold maceration, and hot maceration), he set himself on a mission to discover which technique captures the ideal flavor and level of extraction. His Vermut 25 begins from a base of Verduzzo, a Friulian white wine, aged for a year to oxidize it slightly, and into which 25 individually prepared botanicals are blended. Fred says ‘Thanks to a special processing of the herbs, the body has fruity notes that range from red fruits to black cherry; the bitter tones come from the maceration of herbs like gentian root and cinchona bark. Rounded and smooth in the end, thanks to the seeds and roots of angelica.”

 

To complement and balance the mountain herbs, orange citrus, and woody tones of our bitter and vermouth, an Indian copper pot-distilled gin has been called on. Jin Jiji is crafted with Darjeeling tea, wild foraged Himalayan Juniper, ginger, cardamom, clove, tulsi leaf (holy basil), chamomile, and cashew nut - which enhances the gin’s texture and is native to the distillery’s location in Gao.

Light and bright enough to settle in as your aperitivo cocktail, this particular Negroni riff skews far enough into Amaro flavor territory to also act as an after dinner digestif serve. Cheers to your own Golden Hour, we’re sure it will catch you at the right time.