Anisetta Rosati

Don’t say anise if you don’t add the word “Rosati” 

This article could start with a simple sentence: “There is the anise and… there is the anise of Castignano”. Yes, this little village surrounded by the hills of Marche — a beautiful region just in the middle of Italy — is the baby cot of the “Pimpinella Asinum”, one of the best anises in the world.

Between the breeze of the Adriatic sea and the cold wind of the Appennino mountains of the Sibillini national park, in 1850, Umberto Rosati, a famous pharmacist and a Nobleman, created one of the finest alcoholic drinks made with anise in Italy “Anisetta Rosati”. 

This product crossed the centuries until our times, bringing from the past all the flavours and the memories of times made of herbs, wild hillside fields and farmer knowledge. In the 1877, the newspaper said louder “Anisetta Rosati, best digestive drink with low sugar and high flavours”, maybe there are some good reasons if a drink is still alive for a long time: let’s discover it!

Anisetta Rosati is made after a long and careful bain-marie distillation of the best anise seeds of Castignano (Slow Food Preside) and different herbs of the beautiful Mediterranean bush. Two coffee beans, some lime drops and an ice cube put in the Rosati and… your mind will fly over the top of the Marche’s hills: they say this is the best way to savor this drink, but it’s not the only one. Nowadays all over the world, bartenders use Rosati’s anise in the cocktail mixology, matching it with different beverages; even the pastry chefs add it in the confectionery or in the ice cream; there are also foolhardy and creative chefs that use Rosati to blend the rice in the Italian way of “risotto”. When a flavour preserves worthy tradition and iconic scents, you can use it everywhere!

The distillery nowadays adds some value and some creativity to their products. That’s why some years ago, they introduced “Riserva Leone XIII”, an anise refined in barriques of French oak wood for 24 months, a new and noble way to taste these amazing seeds. Another peculiarity is the “Superfine”, a digestive with a chic and posh infusion of saffron pistils of the hillside of Ascoli Piceno or the “Selection fumoir” with an incredible scent of smoke and tobacco — excellent to drink beside a fireplace on a rainy day of winter.

Rosati’s company adds to their selection “Amaro Rosati- qualis superior”, a bitter liqueur with a fine choice of herbs, roots and officinal plants. When you finish a meal, it’s good to drink this bitter to give to your stomach the relaxation and the power of the plants of the Marche’s hillside. Your stomach will thank you, don’t worry!