«When it was the day of Calabria, God found himself in the grip of 15 thousand square kilometers of green clay with purple reflections. He thought that with that clay you could model a country of two million inhabitants at most. He was tense in a male creative force the Lord, and he promised himself to make a masterpiece. He got to work, and Calabria emerged from his hands more beautiful than California and Hawaii, more beautiful than the French Riviera and the Japanese archipelagos.” This is how the writer Leonida Rèpaci outlines our land. Is it because he was originally from Palmi and, as the Germans say, everyone sings his own song or is it because the tip of the boot really is a small masterpiece? «Eh, but with all the problems of the South», someone would immediately reply.
We like to look at the glass half full and instead of thinking of ourselves as a bitter land, we prefer to describe ourselves as a land of bitters. Bitters and other good things. The food and wine tradition is a basket overflowing with typical products that are now known all over the world. Among these, an unquestionable place of honor goes to bitters, liqueurs based on aromatic herbs and spices that bottle the most authentic soul of the region.
The influences of the colonies
The origins are lost in history and are intertwined with popular culture and the Calabrian agricultural vocation. Suffice it to say that the Greek colonies that had settled here already used local aromatic herbs for the preparation of liqueurs and herbal teas. Over the centuries, the tradition has refined itself, enriched by Arab, Norman and Swabian influences, giving life to a large, imaginary book of secret recipes handed down from generation to generation.
It was above all the Arabs, experts in the distillation and preparation of herbal liqueurs, who introduced new techniques and ingredients, expanding the variety and complexity of aromas. Thus, they used saffron, cinnamon, cloves, licorice, all ingredients that still characterize many native bitters today. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, monasteries and abbeys became centers of production and knowledge, where friars and nuns grew aromatic herbs and prepared liqueurs not only as digestives and healing remedies, but also as drinks for special occasions.
A deep connection with the land
At this point, the words “healing remedies” open up new scenarios and transport us to another dimension, far from sais and monasteries but much closer to hiding places, subterfuge and long unkempt beards. Or at least that’s how we imagine brigands: figures who continue to live in folklore, literature and popular music, representing a symbol of resistance and fight against oppression. Their actions, often violent and bloody, have outlined a profile more similar to a bandit than to a Robin Hood ante litteram.
What, then, does brigandage have to do with a good glass? It seems that they themselves used bitters as a natural medicine, recognizing healing virtues and the power to ward off ailments in certain recipes. Great connoisseurs of the territory and its resources, they collected herbs and wild flowers to prepare liqueurs which, in addition to a pleasure for the palate, were considered health elixirs thanks to their digestive, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties, useful for wounds and infections. It is said that each gang had its own special recipe, passed down orally among the members of the group, often enriched with rare and precious ingredients, such as wild ginseng roots or the bark of ancient trees. There is always an aura of mystery around these shady figures but, beyond the legend, history tells us that the bandits really felt a deep connection with the land and tradition because they lived in close contact with nature, they knew the beneficial properties of the herbs and used their knowledge to heal themselves and to help their companions.
Not call it digestive!
Although the adventures of the brigands and their bitters continue to tell us a piece of Calabrian history and culture, obviously today bitters are no longer used as a natural medicine but have become great protagonists of the table and of mixology, making their way throughout the meal with new, beautiful gastronomic combinations. And the times when a glass was served “just to digest” are becoming increasingly distant, especially because industrial production spares no expense when it comes to sweetness. It means that the final product is so sugary that it generates the opposite effect: slowing down digestion.
This is not the case with artisanal liqueurs oriented towards sugar-free or the use of natural sweeteners. These processes, in fact, give amari-amari, in name and in fact, and are the ones that, in the last handful of years, have climbed the highest peaks of Olympus “above 16 degrees” winning prizes and recognition worldwide . In short, there is nothing in this South that leaves a bad taste in the mouth, but only a good taste of bitterness to tell about legends and bandits, about Calabria and new things to love. (Rachele Grandinetti)
