Strega Liquirizia (500 ml)

When the Alberti family established their distillery beside the Benevento railway station in 1860, they sealed the full formula for Strega in a coded herb cupboard — a legal trade secret passed parent to child, known to exactly two living people at any given time. That unbroken secrecy is not theatre; it is the technical backbone of a liqueur whose character has remained unchanged for over 160 years.

Benevento sits at the tip of the Apennines, roughly 50 km northeast of Naples, where wild mint grows along the banks of the River Sabato and juniper descends from the mountain slopes — both harvested locally and forming the menthol-resinous spine of the blend. Saffron, sourced from Abruzzo, provides the vivid gold colour without artificial additives.

Production begins with maceration of approximately 70 herbs and spices — confirmed botanicals include Samnite wild mint, Apennine juniper, Ceylon cinnamon, orris root, gentian, wormwood, and star anise — in grain alcohol, followed by distillation in traditional swan-neck alembic pot stills. Saffron and sugar syrup are blended in post-distillation, and the spirit is matured in oak or ash vats before bottling at 40% ABV with no artificial colours or flavours.

Where peers like Galliano lean vanilla-sweet, Strega is assertively herbal and menthol-driven with a lightly viscous body and a long, resinous finish — a profile no other major Italian amaro replicates. Consistent across all releases as a non-vintage expression; drink now or cellar indefinitely.