 | gentle suggestion, if it helps to think this way, that
you are drinking them not out of indulgence but for
your digestion.
On one occasion I was offered a digestivo and
protested that, much as I would like to, my head the
next day would not allow it. The response, quick as
a flash, was “But, Signora, the head can look after
itself. You must look after the stomach!”
Italian digestivi are less well known than the aperitivi
but no less original. The classic tradition is the
‘amaro’, or bitter. Derived probably from old monastic
recipes, the bitter drinks have been sweetened over
time to soften their impact. The exceptions are
Fernet-Branca and Averna, which are very bitter,
almost medicinal -- acquired tastes. But they do seem
exactly right when a big dinner sits heavily on the
stomach. On this trip we taste Tito’s home-made digestivi… | |
