This is a bitter apéritif liqueur created following the "Italian Bitter of Turin" recipe dating from the 1860s. It was originally produced in Turin, Italy under the name Torino Gran Classico. The recipe was purchased in 1925 by the small Swiss distillery E. Luginbühl, and a version has been produced for mostly local consumption ever since. Gran Classico was developed by reverting back to the original recipe; it is made from a maceration of 25 aromatic herbs and roots including wormwood, gentian, bitter orange peel, rhubarb, and hyssop. The maceration also creates a naturally attractive, golden-amber color, and no additional coloring is added. Gran Classico Bitter stands alone on ice or with seltzer water, but has amazing range as a modifier for many recipes and spirits. It has offered the cocktailian culture a more complex, non-red alternative bitter ingredient for the world-famous Negroni. 28% ABV
Tempus Fugit Gran Classico Bitter Alcohol by Volume
The alcohol by volume of Tempus Fugit Gran Classico Bitter is between 16% - 40%, and changes based on the production method or location where it is sold.
About the ingredients
Amaro: Amaro (Italian for "bitter") is an Italian herbal liqueur that is commonly consumed as an after-dinner digestif. It usually has a bitter-sweet flavour, sometimes syrupy, and has an alcohol content between 16% and 40%. Similar liqueurs have traditionally been produced throughout Europe. There are local varieties in Germany (where they are called Kräuterlikör), in Hungary, the Netherlands, and France. But the term amaro is applied only to Italian products of this kind. Amaro is typically produced by macerating herbs, roots, flowers, bark, and/or citrus peels in alcohol, either neutral spirits or wine, mixing the filtrate with sugar syrup, and allowing the mixture to age in casks or bottles. Dozens of varieties are commercially produced, the most commonly available of which are Averna, Ramazzotti, Lucano, and Montenegro. Many commercial bottlers trace their recipe or production to the 19th century. Recipes often originated in monasteries or pharmacies. Amaro is typically drunk neat, sometimes with a citrus wedge. It may also be drunk on ice or with tonic water.