Remember the wicked food critic Anton Ego, captivated by the ratatouille cooked by the mouse-chef Rémy? That caponata enchanted the mischievous writer, transporting him, with the evocative power of its flavor, back to his timid childhood. This newborn Sicilian bitter, Nepèta, did the same for me. It took me back to the years when, as kids, after a game of football, we would have Nepèta glasses filled with granita, half lemon and half mint. It was a blatant imitation of the "grown-ups" who in those days still drank Grigioverde at the bars. A concoction of grappa and mint that disappeared in the 1970s and that none of us ever really tasted. Basically, Nepèta is just that: lemon and mint. But to say that is an understatement: because it is true that it is a flavor that takes us back to the past. Yet today it sounds brand new.
Nepèta takes its name from Nepitella, a sort of Sicilian Hierba buena. In reality, it is quite widespread, in its many variants (including catnip), even in other regions: many call it mint. Then, a local glory, the lemons of Syracuse. And then, some typical herbs for bitterness in moderate quantities: the most well-known are Artemisia, bitter orange, and gentian. The whole thing is very appealing also because the sugar (12%) does not seem dominant or cloying even when drinking Nepèta neat. It is a bitter, but it also lends itself very well as an aperitif with the simple addition of ice or in a long drink with tonic water or other sodas.