K&L Spirits Journal Podcast #31 – Elisabetta & Antonella Nonino
I was taking a look back at the K&L Spirits Journal archive and I realized that we had a gaping hole in our subject matter—I'd covered Scotland, France, the United States, the Caribbean, and even Mexico, but I'd never spoken to anyone about the rich distilling traditions of Italy. Given my recent penchant for amaro and grappa (actually an old penchant that's recently resurfaced) I really wanted to talk to someone knowledgeable concerning this topic. My first thought was immediately the Nonino family—the most-respected distiller of fine grappa and amari liqueurs in all of Italy.
When I mentioned this idea to our Italian wine buyer Greg St. Clair, he said to me, "You need to make this one a video podcast. Have you ever seen the Nonino sisters?"
Yes, of course, I had. They're absolutely beautiful. But don't let their good looks fool you. These women are the brains and the brawn behind the entire Nonino empire; a dynamic portfolio of high-quality distillates and one of the few old-world operations to aptly anticipate the cocktail movement and embrace it with open arms (click here to visit their informative website). Their products are not only top-notch, but the labeling is also stylish, modern, and classy—offering a sophistication and intelligence that matches their carefully-crafted flavor. The Nonino sisters—and their spirits—are the total package.
Elisabetta, Antonella, & Cristina Nonino with a bottle of their Chardonnay grappa
On Thursday morning (early because of the time difference—hence my rather scratchy, unenergetic voice) I sat down with Elisabetta and Antonella Nonino for a lovely phone conversation about Italian spirits. Listen to us talk about amaro history, the excitement of the mixology scene, and what makes the Nonino products more elegant and delicious than any other Italian spirit on the market.
You can download this episode of the Spirits Journal podcast here or on our Apple iTunes page. Previous episodes can be found in our podcast archive located on the right hand margin of the page. You can also listen via our embedded Flash player above.
-David Driscoll