Friends, Romans, Drinkers: Meet Italicus, the New Award-Winning Spirit You Need To Try

By Sam Slaughter August 6, 2017

italicus liqueur iritratti 056 color 9962 lpr — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Hundreds, if not thousands, of spirits make their debut every year—but of those only a handful can call themselves award-winners. Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto—Italicus, for short—is a new citrus liqueur that is spirits expert Giuseppe Gallo’s attempt at reviving Italy’s original aperitivo that can now count itself as part of that handful.

Only hitting US shores in the summer of 2017 (it debuted in London in 2016), Italicus is made from bergamot oranges that are sourced from a Protected area of Origin (IGP) in Calabria, as well as Sicilian citrons. The other ingredients in the spirit are also sourced from Italy.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The recipe of origin that Gallo tried to reproduce was from the 1800s for a drink called Rosolio di Torino, which has roots that stretch back all the way to the Renaissance noblewoman Catherine de Medici. The drink was eventually banned by the 19^th Century King Vittorio Amedeo III (who preferred vermouth), but continued on in back rooms across Italy for generations.

Once Gallo had a recipe—lavender, yellow roses, Roman chamomile, melissa balm, and gentian were all used in the original recipe he found—Gallo began to fine tune it. Skip ahead ten years and Italicus was born.

Not set on creating a spirit that merely evokes pure Italianness, the award-winning bottle designed by Stranger & Stranger is also meant to bring to mind the land of the spirit’s origin. This seems only right, seeing as the name means “Italy.” Among the Italian notes, the bottle itself is based on a Roman column, the color comes from the waters of the Amalfi Coast (which you should be adding to your vacation plans if you haven’t already), and the stopper features the god of wine, Bacchus, posed like Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.

Italicus

The only way to make it more Italian would be to put a bowl of pasta in one of Bacchus’ hands and a slice of pizza in the other. (Kidding.)

Italicus is 20% ABV and retails for around $45. It is only available in select markets so far, but with its success so far, the company says it hopes to expand. If you happen to be traveling to Europe, it is also available in multiple countries there.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…

Food & Drink

Here’s how to unclog your garbage disposal in 6 easy steps

Your guide to simple garbage disposal repair

Stainless steel kitchen sink with running water

Why pay for something you can do yourself? Most of the time, unclogging a garbage disposal is something you can do yourself. And the best part is you don't have to be incredibly handy to do it. So, save a little money and go the DIY route.

Take the time to learn how to unclog a garbage disposal drain. You only need 30 minutes to learn this new skill, and the knowledge will be useful forever! Knowing the cause is essential to preventing frequent clogs — you don’t want to be unclogging your disposal more often than you absolutely need to.
Why is my garbage disposal not draining?

Food & Drink

A guide to the five mother sauces of classical cuisine and their uses

Most sauces comes from these foundational sauces, so you must know how to make them

Sauces and spiced spreads in small jars

Did you know that most sauces come from five foundational sauces known as mother sauces? These mother sauces add moistness, flavor, richness, color, and shine, as well as interest and appetite appeal. These sauce-making techniques are some of the basic skills needed in cooking, and they still need to be combined into finished sauces. Finishing techniques have three elements to them: liquid, thickening agent, and seasoning or flavoring ingredients.

The leading sauces are made of liquid plus a thickening agent. The sauces that are derived from the leading sauce are called small sauces. The small sauces are created by using the leading sauce plus additional flavoring ingredients. The best way to remember the name of each mother sauce is by the acronym BETH V: béchamel, espagnole, tomato, hollandaise, and velouté.
Béchamel sauce

Food & Drink

Pro tips from Chef Eduardo Garcia for cooking outdoors like a true mountain man

Here's how to really cook like a mountain man

Chef Eduardo Garcia.

When we think of mountain men, we tend to think of rugged and self-sufficient folks who live off of the land. And while that's mostly accurate, it's also 2024, and the definition has evolved. Today's mountain man is personified by chef Eduardo Garcia, who combines culinary expertise and the right cooking tools with an adventurous attitude and focus on the environment.

Garcia has put in some shifts. He's done everything from cooking on yachts to delivering motivational speeches. He's also the host of Big Sky Kitchen, now two seasons deep. The show focuses on outdoor cooking and the many joys of preparing and eating food in the context of nature.