L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 26 R osolio has enjoyed popu- larity in Piedmont and Sicily for centuries, drunk by hosts and their guests on spe- cial occasions to signify and convey good luck. It's a floral liqueur that has often been used as the base for other alcoholic beverages in the past but this year it's enjoying a surge in pop- ularity in its own right and bar- keeps across Europe are going mad for its unique flowery fla- vor. Here's what you need to know and how to drink it.  What is Rosolio? The first known mention of rosolio in literature was in 1796 according to the M erriam- Webster Dictionary, but it prob- ably dates back even further as distilled cordials, or liqueurs, had been used as medicinal ton- ics as far back as the 1400s. Used originally as alcoholic medicines, the cordials of the late 15th century w ere pre- scribed in small doses to revive heavy souls, revitalize the heart and even as aphrodisiacs, rein- vigorating parts of the body other medicines couldn't. But imbibers soon discovered an added benefit to thes e medicines, increasingly drinking liqueurs for their intoxicating properties rather than their pure- ly therapeutic benefits. And by the 1700s they were more and more drunk for pleasure, not just the relief of pain. The origins of rosolio, or Ros Solis meaning the "dew of the sun" in Latin, as it was original- ly called, are hazy but many suggest it was first distilled in Renais s ance Turin from the Italian Sundew plant, Drosera rotundifolia. The alcoholic infu- sion was made from fresh petals of the insectivorous bog plant together w ith s ugar, w ater, vanilla pods and a raw spirit. Its thought the original recipe also included spices such as cubeb (tailed pepper), galingale and grains of paradise (both from the ginger family), all of which brought a stimulating punch of aphrodisiacal heat. No wonder then that self-acclaimed English doctor and writer of medical tomes William Salmon describes Rosolio as a golden yellow sun- dew drink that "stirs up lust" in those who drink it. And the liqueur wasn't just enjoyed in Italian company at this time. It had already crossed the English Channel to Britain, where Rosolio was served at the top banqueting tables to wash dow n other licentious foods including kissing comfits, or perfumed sugar sweets made from sugar, musk, civet, amber- gris and white orris. William Shakespeare also makes mention of them in his play "The Merry Wives of Winds or" w hen Falstaff exclaims "Let the sky hail kissing comfits." As the distillation and con- sumption of Rosolio as a recre- ational drink increased, so too did the variations on the recipe. Small producers typically dis- tilled Rosolio liqueurs locally in convents , mo nas teries and homes so methods and flavors relied heavily on the flowers growing in the cloisters, gardens and meadow s nearby. A nd where Sundew wasn't available home distillers started to substi- tute other botanicals, especially those in close regional abun- dance. From rose to lavender, orange blossom to cinnamon or lemon to fennel this delightful liqueur, over the years, came to mean many different flavors to many different Italians from north to s outh. A nd w ith an alcoholic content of anything from 20 to 30% the finished drink had a good kick. Over the decades the taste for liqueurs grew and rosolio drink- ing diversified along with its fla- vor. It became popular in both village celebrations and royal courts toasting baptisms, wed- dings and royal occasions. In his 1921 Manuali Hoepli L iquor is ta, ins tructions for liqueur-makers, Italo Ghersi, a respected mathematician and accomplished chess player, cata- logued over 2000 different Italian liqueurs (not to be con- fus ed w ith "liquor," the American term for spirits). Of those, Ghersi listed 55 different variations on the rosolio recipe alone, more than for any other single category in the book. But although there were dozens of variations, rosolio's popularity was on the wane, confined to the back of the royal drinks cabinet, thanks to a large scale switch in the mid 1800s by the royal court and commoners alike to ver- mouth, another Turin concoc- tion. But the story of the people's drink doesn't end there. ELIZABETH SALTHOUSE Everyone is going mad for Rosolio The recent success of Aperol Spritz, bursting borders to take over the European bar scene of late, has paved the way for other Italian aperitivi like rosolio to make a come back, both in its home country and wider afield. Contemporary dis tillers are reviving and revitalizing grand- ma's old recipes taking the domestic drink to the contempo- rary city-center cocktail menu. So as rosolio's sweet, floral, cit- rus overtones are introduced to a new audience, how should we drink it? How to serve rosolio Discerning barkeeps are for- ever looking for new twists on old drinks, especially those with a story, but with rosolio they have a complete compendium of florals with which to work. And unlike Aperol, which has a rec- ognizable bitter orange tang, the newly launched rosoli have their own individual bouquets. For the medicinally green- bottled Rosolio di Bergamotto, for example, the initial citrus sharpness gives way to a sweeter lavender note and finally a bitter bergamot finish making it the perfect accompaniment for pros- ecco. Distiller and world-class bartender Giuseppe Gallo rec- ommends a 50:50 mix of his rosolio, based on his grandma's old recipe, with a good prosecco garnished with 3 plump green olives to add saltiness to cut through the floral overtures. M eanw hile in London Thierry Brocher of Sanderson's bars uses his 15 years experi- ence in the business to combine rosolio with gin and vodka to add an Italian spin to some cock- tail classics. Why not try his rosolio infused spritz, gin and tonic and vodka tonic using the liqueur to give a citrus botanical lift. Rosolio is also said to work well in a martini offering anoth- er mouth-watering temptation to refres h the long s ummer evenings, or why not enjoy it in a tiny, colored period shot glass as they would have done back in its heyday. The options are end- less. So next time you're stumped for inspiration at the bar why not ask your barkeep for rosolio. Its Renaissance alchemy turns the delicate flowers of Italy's gar- dens and meadows into a gold- en, perfumed liqueur fit for a king. And whether you drink it straight to enjoy its complex lay- ers of botanic charm or mix it with spirits to tease out its aro- mas, it is bound to make conver- sation go with a flow. Cin cin! Small producers typically distilled Rosolio liqueurs locally in convents, monasteries and homes so methods and flavors relied heavily on the flowers growing in the cloisters, gardens and meadows nearby LIFESTYLE FASHION FOOD ARTS ADVICE

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