Herbal and Fruit Liqueurs

The Val Gardena, in Trentino-Alto Adige, is renowned for being the best area in Italy for the production of herbal liqueurs, although the rest of Italy also traditionally makes them - juniper, gentian, rhubarb and wild Alpine flowers are all mixed with alcohol and distilled to make a range of very special drinks to round off a meal.

Centerbe, a very local liqueur from Abruzzo, is a strong herb-based drink that was once peddled as a cure for the plague, and is even now drunk as an aid to digestion. Its name means ‘one hundred herbs’. Fernet-Branca is another bitter, aromatic spirit made from a number of herbs and spices that can include myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe and saffron. It is usually drunk at the end of a meal.