Description

This historic Alpine recipe has been produced in Bordiga since the foundation in 1888. ‘Centum Herbis’ means ‘100 Herbs’ in Latin, and this is Bordiga’s version of a mixed herbal liqueur, a drink that is found on both sides of the Piedmontese Alps. Not 100 herbs, but many, and mostly local, which is to say grown in these mountains that loom on the border of Piedmont and France, not far from the distillery. Although this contains a hint of the classic local bitter herbs gentian and wormwood, this is not an amaro. And while mint is the leading ingredient this is a very complex combination of flavors; we find it an excellent digestive after dinner but also very versatile in cocktail combinations and subs well for Chartreuse.

As is traditional, all the local botanicals are grown at altitude, harvested by hand by local foragers, and dried at altitude in a dark, ventilated room. When ready, the local and imported botanicals are infused individually in alcohol until the different infusions are complete, then combined by Mario, the master distiller. (This is made mostly of local herbs.) Water and sugar are added; after resting for several weeks the liqueur is filtered and bottled. Modern techniques such as centrifuging, ultrasound or the use of chemical solvents to speed up extraction are never employed. No purchased extracts are used.

Peppermint and eucalyptus give the mentholated taste, genepy gives an exclusive herbal and floral sensation, the two gentian and cinchona give the bitterness.

On our perceived bitterness scale of 1-10: Centum Herbis is a 6 (1 = sweet 10 = really bitter).