If you say Tuscany, you think Vin Santo. But also old liqueurs such as the Biadina from Lucca, the Alchermes in which Prato peaches and zuccotto are soaked, some China (Clementi, Massagli) which in recent years have been joined by a platoon of artisanal gins, vermouths and vodkas. And such is the quality that it has given rise to events such as the Florence Cocktail Week created in 2016 by Paola Mencarelli (but this September will be canceled because it will be exported to Amalfi), the growing space in Pitti Taste, the recent Tuscany Spirits Festival. In short: the Tuscany of artisanal liqueurs is vibrant and young, with an eye on the environment and what can help us consume it less. Indie, which stands for independent, is for example a young project launched a couple of years ago in San Pietro in Campo (we are in the Middle Serchio Valley) by Francesco Marcucci and Saverio Bertagni. Ambrosia was their first label, a zero impact gin thanks to the use of renewable energy but also the use of recycled glass, for returnable bottles. Sage and rosemary are harvested in the surrounding area, on the Tuscan Apennines (we are at the entrance to the Garfagnana), like the botanicals used in the Amaro del Riccio, whose ingredients also include honey from the numerous local chestnut groves. Over time the family expanded and vodka, limoncello and sambuca arrived from aromatic herbs harvested on the slopes of the Apuan Alps. Among the companies with the oldest experience we find Il Re dei Re which has recently returned the ancient recipe for punch to its birthplace in Labronia. Founded twelve years ago by Fabio Elettrico, the company focuses on Amaranto pride, giving this name to a bitter which in 2019 alone defeated the global competition at the International Spirits Awards (IWSC), and won silver in China at the Spirits Selection and the best of the year in Germany. As a good Livornese, although of Calabrian origins from which he brings liquorice and bergamot, with sea water he created Amarea to which spirulina algae and a particular Asian inflorescence give the color of the sky. «The new Tuscan liqueur industry has been expanding for about ten years, even if its tradition goes back a long way», explains the Viareggio bartender Davide Pellegrini, creator together with Gianluca Domenici of the Tuscany Spirits Festival and of the Giochi di Spiaggia line for Numquam, which in 1999 it returned to producing the ancient Vermouth di Prato. «Tuscan companies have grown in quality, thanks to important investments in machinery which have allowed them to align themselves on an international level. Many have remained artisanal, focusing on excellent ingredients. It’s happening as with beers, but we need to see how much the market will still be able to accept.” The many novelties are imaginative: from the salted caramel vodka of the Florentine Distilleria Urbana Italiana (Du. It) produced by Tommaso Pieri 100 meters from the start of the Chiantigiana, to the gin and bitters of the Pistoia-based Acqua San Felice, up to the alcoholic foam of Teneri produced in collaboration with the Apuan Opificio 77. With a factory in Massa, the distillery was born five years ago from the intention of bartender Alessandro Gherardi to mix innovation and tradition. The result was a real cocktail list of more or less revised classic recipes (including a spicy Negroni, an Americano with citrus fruits and ginger, the white MiTo) sold in single-dose bottles of 100 ml or eight portions. By doing this, just add some ice to the glass and you’re done. As an alternative to the usual alcohol, he also thought of an ideal aperitif for a grapefruit Spritz, with rhubarb and gentian to give the bitter note while the ginger takes on the spicy one. And still talking about individual recipes, barman Daniele Lencioni distills his Symeon in Barga, at Indie, in the name of an alternative in color (yellow) and quality to the various Campari and Aperol to give citrus and spicy taste to the classics of mixing.
