Gajárdo Bitter Radicale Café & Carruba

The classic Gajárdo Bitter Radicale after a further maceration with roasted coffee beans and carruba - the fruit of the carob tree popular in Italian desserts.

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 method of producing 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. Gentian, Szechuan pepper, rhubarb, cinchona bark, liquorice and orange zest are used in the bitter, while roasted coffee beans and the fruit of the carob tree "Carruba" are added in a further maceration step in the Café & Carruba.

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

The distinctive bitter notes familiar from the regular bitter are still clearly perceptible in the aroma and taste, but the combination with a hint of coffee and the sweetness of the Carruba fruit makes the Bitter Café&Carruba exceptionally harmonious and well-rounded.

Drinking recommendation:

Take the first sip neat, of course, as with any spirit, to experience the real taste. And basically, an ice cube is enough and the Gajárdo Bitter Radicale Café&Carruba is a great digestive.

However, we can also highly recommend classic drinks such as Americano or Negroni, to which the coffee aroma adds an additional aromatic layer.