We met up with Antonio Guarda Nardini from Grappa Nardini. Antonio's family has been making premium grappa in Italy since 1779. Although the family originated with distilling traditional grappa they also produce liqueurs, brandy, aperitifs and bitters. This episode we stayed within the grappa category. The name “grappa” originally comes from the Italian word “grappolo”, meaning grape. Grappa is distilled from grape skins, or pomace. The pomace is a byproduct of wine-making. Grappa is therefore a type of pomace brandy. This grappa is NOT "Italian moonshine". And contrary to many American palates, this grappa is complex in flavor, incredibly smooth and very versatile. Typically the spirit is bottled un-aged OR aged, Matt is particularly fond of their aged expressions. Grappa can be enjoyed neat or in a cocktail. Antonio was kind enough to give us a copy of his book "The Grappa Handbook". Not available on Amazon. The 132 page book was created to underscore grappa’s accessibility, as well as discussing the spirit’s history‚ distillation methods and offering food-matching ideas. The handbook features over 30 cocktail recipes‚ led with a foreword from the ‘King of Cocktails’ himself‚ New Yorker‚ Dale DeGroff. The cooking section‚ featuring 18 mouth-watering recipes. We can't thank Antonio enough for joining us and broadening our palates. We very much look forward to tasting through their diverse portfolio.

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