RECIPES

Macerations/infusions: Tart cherry, fresh & dried orange peel, rhubarb, rhubarb root, hibiscus, cardamom, allspice, gentian, lovage root, cinchona bark

Notes on production: Terrativo is the first bourbon-based aperitivo in the world. Hooray for originality! We wanted to keep the character from the bourbon in the final profile of the liqueur while still making a spirit that was undeniably aperitivo with American flavors. To satisfy all those prompts, we began by distilling a high-rye bourbon. Tart cherry, bitter orange, cardamom, and allspice were infused into the bourbon base via maceration and vapor infusion. After that, the remaining botanicals, fruits, and bittering were macerated into the bourbon and then filtered. The final step is to dose with sugar: we used sorghum syrup to add just enough sweetness to Terrativo that it rounds out the edges of the bitterness but not so much that the spirit becomes syrupy.

Notes on style: The world of aperitivo is much broader and more exciting than its most extreme version. Terrativo is not a bitter bomb; there are tart, citrus, spicy flavors accentuated with a present but not overbearing amount of bitterness. Think of this as a whiskey or bourbon replacement in a cocktail as well as a traditional modifier.