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A pleasant discovery: the very Sicilian amaro Nepèta – Article on ragusanews

Water, lemon, sugar and mint. And here you are served the Nepèta, a Sicilian bitter produced in the Syracuse area but which uses wild herbs from the Iblean plateaus and Syracuse IGP lemon. A amaro born for a relatively short time, still perhaps not widespread, which we had the pleasure of tasting at the end of dinner at the Brisè-Ristorantico in Donnalucata. And it was immediately love at first sight. In the huge and varied world of bitters, this very particular product stands out for its freshness, its captivating taste and its extraordinary simplicity.

The Nepèta takes its name from the Nepitella, a perennial herbaceous plant of the Labiate (Satureia calamintha), also known as calaminta or pennyroyal, common in woods and wild places; it has ovate leaves and small lilac flowers and is used in cooking as an aromatic ingredient.

In addition to Nepèta, other typical Sicilian herbs are also present in this amaro in moderate quantities: those made known are Artemisia, bitter orange, gentian. It is an authentic amaro, in which the sugar is perfectly balanced and does not predominate over the rest of the flavours. Nepèta is pleasantly drunk because it is able to cleanse the palate as few bitters really know how to do.

The nepitella is obviously the main ingredient of the amaro, the first herbaceous note that is felt on the palate during the first sip and which brings to mind all the wild flavor of the Sicilian countryside. At the bottom of the palate, however, there is a slight bitter scent given by the infusion of the peel of the Syracuse lemon IGP, the second "predominant" ingredient. A pleasant discovery, an authentic Sicilian amaro that would be appreciated to see more often in restaurants or bars, to drink as a simple digestive, at the end of a meal or even to combine with some cocktails.

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