Bordiga Centum Herbis Liqueur

This historic alpine recipe has been produced by Bordiga since its start in 1888. ‘Centum Herbis’ means ‘100 Herbs’ in Latin, and this is Bordiga’s version of a mixed herbal liqueur, a drink that is found on both sides of the Piedmontese Alps. Although this contains a hint of the classic local bitter herbs gentian and wormwood, this is not an amaro. While mint is the leading ingredient, this is a very complex combination of flavors. Peppermint and eucalyptus give the mentholated taste, genepy gives an exclusive herbal and floral sensation, the gentian and cinchona give the bitterness. On our arbitrary bitterness scale (1 being very sweet and 10 very bitter) Centum Herbis is 6/10. It is an excellent digestive after dinner but also very versatile in cocktail combinations. It can be a well drink substitution for Chartreuse.

As is traditional, all the local botanicals are grown at altitude, harvested by hand by local foragers, and dried at altitude in a dark, ventilated room. When ready, the local and imported botanicals are infused individually in alcohol until the different infusions are complete, then combined by Mario, the master distiller. This is made mostly of local herbs. Water and sugar are added; after resting for several weeks, the liqueur is filtered and bottled. Modern techniques such as centrifuging, ultrasound or the use of chemical solvents to speed up extraction are never employed. No purchased extracts are used. (Info courtesy of Cream Wine Company)