Tempus Fugit Gran Classico Bitter liqueur

Product of: Switzerland

See more Amber bittersweet aperitivo/aperitif liqueurs

View 2 cocktails with Italian amber bitter liqueur

View product website

Gran Classico Bitter is a modern day recreation of a 1860s bitter apéritif liqueur originally produced in Turin, Italy called Torino Gran Classico. The recipe was purchased in 1925 by the small Swiss distillery Matter-Luginbühl AG who have produced a version mostly for local consumption ever since.

Gran Classico was developed by reverting back to the original recipe and is made from a maceration of 25 aromatic herbs and roots including wormwood, gentian, bitter orange peel, rhubarb, and hyssop. The maceration imparts an attractive golden-amber hue and no additional colouring is added.

Use a non-red alternative bitter liqueur in cocktails such as the Negroni or serve over ice with soda or tonic water.

Review and Tasting

Sampled on 12/03/2015

Appearance:

Clear (slight haze), coppery golden amber.

Aroma:

Clove, vanilla, orange zest and rhubarb with subtle white pepper, gentian and wormwood.

Taste:

Syrupy, bittersweet and lightly spicy with herbal complexity and herbaceousness. Gentian rooty bitterness, honeyed sweetness and white pepper spice all sit perfectly in kilter.

Aftertaste:

Red berry fruit, lingering mild quinine bitterness, bayleaf and white pepper spice. Overall: Use as the bitter element in a Negroni for a great drink.