Labor Day Jackpot!

I'm out of town visiting my parents for the long weekend and while putting away their newly-arrived K&L booze delivery, I discovered some amazing, unopened bottles lingering in the rear of their spirits closet.  My parents (and myself every now and then) used to make regular visits to both Germany and Italy to visit close friends.  It appears that my mother has been stowing some special bottles away in her suitcase over the years, now for the benefit of her aperativo-loving son.

First off - Biancosarti!  The white version of Campari sold almost exclusively in Italy.  Made by the Campari Group with a different blend of special herbs and spices, I've actually never tasted it, but that will all change later this evening.

Secondly - plum liquor and an herbal bitter from a small hunting village in rural Germany!  How fitting that last night I dreamt about my good friend Kalli only to have my mother tell me this morning that she bought these bottles while accompanying him on a hunting trip.  Kalli was a teacher with whom both my mother and I spent many a summer in Iserlohn with, before he succumbed to cancer a few years back.  My mom keeps these bottles in memorial to him, so I'm not sure if we'll open them, but I'm tempted.  In Germany, you have to hunt on private property, so you have to get permission from the landowner before you go.  The farmer on whose land Kalli hunted produced these liqueurs and allowed my mom to sample them.

There are so many different variations of herbal and bitter liqueurs being made throughout Europe that it's mindboggling.  Every town you visit seems to have their own traditional version that differs slightly from a neighboring village or region.  Someday I'm going to taste every one of them and write a book about it that only twelve people will ever buy.

-David Driscoll