Gajárdo Triple Sec 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. The peel of lemons, limes, bergamots, sweet oranges, bitter oranges and selected Ciaculli mandarins, as well as a few cloves, are used for the Triple Sec.

After maceration, the Fernet is only coarsely filtered at room temperature, so it has not undergone the usual cooling filtration and can therefore still contain suspended solids despite its 40% vol. and appear cloudy when enjoyed ice-cold.

In addition to the prominent bitter notes, the aroma features a full bouquet of all imaginable citrus fruits, with bitter orange and mandarin setting the tone in the taste, as expected.

Drinking recommendation:

The Gajárdo Triple Sec naturally works for mixing wherever a Triple Sec is required, but it shines best in combination with light ingredients, e.g. in a Margarita or White Lady.