The best liqueur in the world is Calabrian!
The sailing ship that was supposed to carry Jefferson from Panama to the port of Genoa began to take on water in the middle of the Mediterranean. In a few minutes he was sucked to the bottom with his load of bottles full of sugar cane distillate. The captain, together with Roger and Gil, two men of the crew, pushed by the currents, managed to reach the shore. It was 1871 and the three shipwrecked Americans were toppled by the waves on the Tyrrhenian coast of Cosenza, between Fiumefreddo and Fuscaldo. Having escaped danger, they entered the inland areas, perhaps crossing Serra di Cecio and the summit of Cozzo Cervello, then down to the Valle del Crati, towards the houses.
Giocondo and the old customs warehouse
Between Montalto Uffugo and Torano, in the Ziribba area, Raffaele Trombino, known as "u Giocondo", managed the old customs warehouse. Three small buildings, one used as a dwelling, one as a shop, the other for sale. Jefferson, Roger and Gil found hospitality there: they "married" in the warehouse, working for Giocondo who traded in spices and in the dark, in a secret room, prepared citron and bergamot liqueurs. Jefferson called that place the Perfumery. They set off together with Giocondo before dawn, with the cart pulled and the empty baskets. Four or five hours of travel to reach the citrus groves, to the south the plantations of "Bergamotto Fantastico", to the north those of the "Cedri Diamante".
Jefferson , the best in the world
Little is known about what happened next. Of men who left for other continents and never returned. Of women left waiting raising children who then emigrated to Germany. Of grandchildren who have reconnected bit by bit and reconstructed a beautiful story. Even painful. But what everyone knows by now is that Jefferson is the best liqueur on the planet. And also best herbal liqueur, in the categories of the World's Drink Awards: in London, a few weeks ago, it conquered the highest podium twice in the international contest that selects and rewards the best liqueurs and distillates in the world: «Strong on the nose, bitterness at the beginning that passes. Soft and smooth and very well balanced with a herbal finish».
Jefferson - Important Amaro - is a mix of fresh botanical herbs, picked in bloom and processed as they once were: rosemary from Montalto Uffugo, oregano from Palombara (“ara scisa i Paola”), lemons from Rocca Imperiale, oranges bitter and sweet and grapefruit from Bisignano, the bergamot from Roccella Ionica, the gentian from Sila. Essences of Calabria.
Old bonded warehouse
But who is the alchemist of the Old Bonded Warehouse today? Who recovered the knowledge and secrets of "u Giocondo"? Thick black beard, curled moustache, 1920s bowler hat and a great desire to tell his story, among moving and amusing anecdotes: Ivano Trombino is the author of Jefferson's perfect recipe. And not only. He spent seven years reconstructing his family's history (while working as a liquor representative for the Caribbean Company) experimenting with blends, between one flowering and another of his botanicals. Now he will cultivate them in a large garden in Montalto Uffugo, in the province of Cosenza, where he will completely rebuild the old customs warehouse: a thinking area, a spice room, one for infusions. His father Francesco entrusted the care of citrus fruits. «Let's even say that it will be a contemporary speakeasy where to promote the culture of drinking and receive visits from all over the world», announces Trombino.
Roger and Frack
And alongside Jefferson ("Bitter natural and authentic like Calabria", of which the Extra Strong mother tincture also exists, in the pharmaceutical bottle with dropper), there is also Roger, Bitter Extra Strong ("Tenere Sotto Banco", "Torbido from birth” is indicated on the label). Frack's secret recipe, “Evening bitter, no fashion. Undisciplined from birth": it is the result of three blends prepared from separate infusions, worked with fresh herbs (2 parts bitter and 1 vinous).