From bitter to tonic, golden time for vintage drinks

An unexpected return to fame for some drinks that seemed to have been filed away only in childhood memories. With the arrival of summer and the growing interest, even of the youngest, in mixed drinks, with a real boom in recent years in Italy for the gin and tonic, the tonic has its golden moment. It is no coincidence that on the occasion of the recent G7 held in Puglia at meetings where the protocol did not provide for the consumption of alcohol, the Lunelli Group paid tribute to the Heads of State with a selection of labels including the Cedrata and Tonica Tassoni.

To these beverages, produced in the Salò plant, recently Posteitaliane dedicated the issue of a postage stamp from the thematic series "Le Eccellenze del sistema produttivo ed economico" dedicated to Cedral Tassoni Spa on the 230th anniversary of its foundation. And again to celebrate Tassoni's 230th anniversary, the Lunelli family presented Bitter del Lago at the Roma Bar Show, an international event dedicated to the beverage and mixing industry.
"A tribute to the strong link with the Lake Garda area," emphasises Camilla Lunelli, pointing out that the ruby-red production originates from a recipe of the ancient Tassoni spice works and is based on the careful combination of selected bittering botanicals with an infusion of Calabrian citron, a fruit to which the company is strongly attached.

Among the ingredients selected by the master herbalist are pigeon peel, a root from South Africa with an intense yellow colouring that lends a particular spiciness to the bitter note; dried rhubarb and mace, a highly prized nutmeg flower, as well as vanilla berries and cinnamon. Here too the bottle has the 'citrus peel' that identifies the whole range and, with its 25 degrees, creates, together with the Cedrata Tassoni, the aperitif Bitter Tass. "The new Tassoni era aims at ever greater refinement in both taste and packaging, with a particular focus on mixology," emphasises Simone Masè, Tassoni CEO and Lunelli Group General Manager.

Meanwhile, in Rome, the distilled essences "London Essence", an English brand created to produce fine essences for perfumers, make their debut on the terrace of the W Rome Hotel. The company founded in 1896 presents a collection - ditributed by Molinari - of tonic water, soda, ginger drinks and artisanal lemonade, low in sugar and calories thanks to the pure use of natural botanicals selected from around the world, to enhance the taste and sensory experience of cocktails by valorising an authoritative tradition in infusion and distillation as well as vocated territories, from Angers to Grasse for example, for the blossoming and production of ancient fruits and spices, from pomelo to pink pepper, from anise and fennel base distilled to jasmine and white peach to be mixed with vodka and full-bodied spirits such as bourbon and cognac.

Another historic company is Stock Spirits Italia, which celebrates 140 years in business with a position among the leaders in the spirits sector in Central and Eastern Europe. A long history that began in Trieste in 1884 iconized by the "Bitterissimo Stock", the new bitter celebrating the 140th anniversary to be enjoyed with ice and a slice of orange, or diluted with soda, tonic or sparkling white wine, is the ultimate ingredient, from the classic Negroni to vintage cocktails such as the "9 buche". Owned by CVC Capital Partners since November 2021, the Group today employs 1,800 people, operates in nine European countries (Italy, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia), five of which are home to eight production sites, and boasts a diverse portfolio of over 70 quality brands, exported to more than 50 countries worldwide, including the United States and Canada.