A large bottle of this bitter aperitivo from esteemed and storied grappa producer Nardini.
Nardini’s take on the classic Bitter style is flavoured with Chinese rhubarb, vanilla, gentian, bitter orange, sweet orange, and Roman wormwood. The product is coloured with ponceau R4, which is suitable for vegetarians, unlike other popular scarlet aperitifs, which use cochineal beetle dye.
The final result is zesty, rich aperitivo that pours a bright clear ruby red. Nardini il Bitter serves up notes of freshly cut oranges, peppery spice, wormwood herbaceous, vanilla, brown sugar, marmalade, peppery spice, flowers and rooty rhubarb fruitiness. The mouthfeel is thick and syrupy.
Try using this in place of Campari or even Aperol. Nardini il Bitter makes a cracking, more powerfully flavoured spritz, but also does well mixed simply with soda water over ice.