Vespetrò is a Lombard

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...

from

Canzo Canzo (; lmo, Canz , locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Italian province of Como. It is the last town north of the historical Brianza region of Lombardy, capital of the Lake Como Triangle community and a regional tourism destin ...

. Its main ingredients are spices and medicinal plants. It is marketed with the brand ''Vespetrò Scannagatta'' and produced – as a homemade product – also by some families in

, who hand down the recipe from generation to generation.

History

The recipe of Vespetrò, of

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

ard origin, has been present in

at least since 18th century and was appreciated by tourists as a speciality of the town. During the 19th century, a Canzese

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

, Scannagatta, perfected the traditional recipe of the town, patented it and began to market it. The brand ''Vespetrò Scannagatta'' was awarded during the 1900

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

World's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

and was appreciated by the 20th century's tourists, coming in

and surroundings, in its yellow and elongated bottle. After a stop in the years 1992–2007, the selling restarted. Scannagatta exact recipe remains secret, and also every producing family of

treasures its own version, with slight variations in the method of producing and in the proportion of ingredients.

Taste and alcohol content

The taste is sweet and

anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and ta ...

-like. The grade is about 40%

abv Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

Bibliography

* Karl Baedeker, ''L’Italie: Manuel du voyageur. Première partie: l’Italie septentrionale'', 1865 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vespetro Italian liqueurs Cuisine of Lombardy

History

Taste and alcohol content

See also

Bibliography