Gajárdo Bitter Radicale

In 2013, Marco Schiavo, the fifth-generation owner and master distiller of Distilleria Schiavo in a small town near Vicenza called Costabissara, began experimenting with a traditional production method for Italian liqueurs. As a supporter of the slow food movement, he found all commercially available products too artificially sweetened and, above all, not bitter enough.

After a meeting with like-minded bartender Giacomo Diamante, the two set about trying out different macerations that offer an uncompromisingly herbal and bitter taste right through to the finish and also work perfectly in cocktails without adding the usual large amounts of sugar to the product.

Gajárdo products are based on neutral fruit alcohol, which is infused for 18 days with various herbs, roots and spices using the bâtonnage process to give it its unique aroma. These include gentian, Szechuan pepper, rhubarb, cinchona bark, licorice and orange zest.

After maceration, the bitter is only filtered quite coarsely at room temperature, so it has not undergone the usual cooling filtration and therefore still contains suspended matter.

The bitter notes, both in aroma and taste, are certainly overwhelming for many when drunk straight. In addition to the herbal components, a hint of bitter orange can also be detected.

Drinking recommendation:

We always recommend the first sip neat... but here we do so with a little caution! Gajárdo Bitter Radicale is really bitter and cannot be compared with the usual industrial products. On its own, it's only for real bitter lovers, but with a little tonic and ice or ginger beer, it quickly turns into a delicious but mature-tasting long drink.

We can also highly recommend classic drinks such as Americano, Milano-Torino and Negroni. If you're in a hurry in summer, a Spritz is also fantastic.