Amaro Nepèta

A collaboration between cousins Federico Tanasi and Andrea Giudice, Nepèta was started in 2016 with the goal of making a traditional liqueur based on Nepitella, a wild mint native to southeastern Sicily where they grew up. Inspired by the lemon and mint granita they enjoyed on summer afternoons of their youth, as well as the mint-infused grappa enjoyed by their elders, Federico and Andrea decided to cultivate Nepitella in certified organic fields at an elevation of around 600 meters above sea level.

After harvest, the leaves are infused in neutral alcohol for a week and then combined with infusions of PGI Syracuse lemons, bitter orange, gentian, artemisia, and wild Sicilian bitter herbs. No colorants or additional flavoring agents are used, resulting in an amaro that is remarkably fresh and vibrant.

Nepitella itself has a flavor somewhere between mint and oregano, and has a long history of medicinal and beverage uses. Evoking the aromas of the Sicilian countryside, Amaro Nepèta is equally at home in a cocktail, on the rocks, or as a chilled, neat digestivo. -Importer's Notes