Suze
ITALICUS Rosolio di Bergamotto is one of the world’s most awarded aperitivo globally. ITALICUS was awarded Best New Spirit 2017 at the prestigious Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards, and Top Trending Liquor Brand by Drinks International in the years from 2019 to 2023.
Grown, harvested and distilled in Italy, ITALICUS Aperitivo delivers fresh tones of ripe bergamot, balanced with a light bitter and floral spice. Championing the humble bergamot, a fragrant citrus fruit that grows throughout the Mediterranean, ITALICUS is produced at a family-owned distillery, established in 1906 in Moncalieri, Torino. Each of the ingredients that goes into making ITALICUS are sourced from across Italy, including: IGP bergamot peels from a UNESCO-protected area in Calabria; cedro from Sicilia; Roman chamomile from Lazio; and melissa balm, lavander, yellow roses and gentian from Northern Italy.
To make the award-winning Aperitivo, bergamot and cedro peels are infused in cold water to release their essential oils – in a time-honoured process called Sfumatura – before being blended with the other botanicals, which have been macerated together for several days in neutral grain spirit, to create the final liquid.
ITALICUS was created by world-class bartender and the authority in Italian spirits, Giuseppe Gallo. Masterfully conceived using a combination of a recipe found in a book that dates back to the 1800s and his experience of his own family’s recipes that go back many generations, it is his reinvention of Italian Rosolio, once known as the Drink of Kings or Aperitivo di Corte.
Hailing from the beautiful Amalfi coast in the south of Italy, Giuseppe’s passion for mixology stems from his strong Italian heritage, dating back to his childhood, when he used to watch his mother make homemade Limoncello.
ITALICUS is passionate about art in all its forms and the bespoke bottle design is a work of art in itself. The award- winning bottle was designed by creative agency Stranger & Stranger and pays tribute to Italy’s exquisite history and heritage, as well as the incredible native flavours found across the country’s 20 regions.
To honour ITALICUS's heritage and design, every year since 2018 bartenders have been given the opportunity to register to the competition Art of ITALICUS, Aperitivo Challenge - a cocktail program created from bartenders to bartenders with the aim to create and innovate aperitivo cocktails taking inspiration from any form of art. Country winners of the competition have the opportunity to win a trip to Italy for the global finals and compete for the coveted title of Global ITALICUS Bar Artist and the mentorship program in one of the world's 50 best bars.
