How Amaro Lucano is made

Selection

Cavalier Vena's recipe consists of over 30 different botanicals, and the first step in making Lucano is the selection of these botanicals. The recipe is a closely guarded Vena family secret, but 12 of the botanicals used are known:

• Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) from Italy
• Roman wormwood (Artemisia Pontica) from Italy
• Clary Sage ( Salvia sclarea) from Italy - flowering tops
• Musk Yarrow flowers from Italy
• Holy Thistle flowers from Italy
• Bitter Orange peel from Italy
• Gentian root from France
• Angelica seeds from Eastern Europe
• Elderflower inflorescences from Eastern Europe
• Rue (Ruta graveolens) from Italy
• Aloe from South Africa
• Cinnamon bark from Ceylon

Most of the botanicals are naturally dried at their origin and shipped to the Lucano botanical store, where they are carefully weighed according to the recipe.

Maceration

The botanicals are macerated in a mixture of grape neural alcohol and water with careful attention to the perfect extraction period, helped by a hot infusion process in thermo-controlled baths (55°/60°C) overnight – what the folk at Lucano call "ripening>, essential to achieve the citrus and floral of Amaro Lucano.

Pressing

The macerations are hot-pressed to produce an infusion.

The Secret

The infusion is then blended to produce the extract that is the flavoursome heart of Lucano. It was at this point in the production process that Cavalier Vena used to add his secret ingredients. This task now falls to his grandson, Pasquale Vena.

Quality control & maturationl

Laboratory tests are then carried out to ensure the quality of the extract and to ensure a consistent product before a period of five months maturation in oak casks.

Blending

The aged extract is blended with pure grape alcohol, essential oils, purified water, sugar and caramel to produce Amaro Lucano.

Bottling

After further laboratory tests, the liqueur is gently filtered and ready for bottling.