Branca Menta

Branca Menta comes from Fratelli Branca, the Milan family house known for its bitters and herbal liqueurs since 1845 and the maker of the famous Fernet Branca. Built in the same distillery and given the same long ageing, it rests for over a year in handmade oak barrels before being refined with a carefully chosen mint blend, and is bottled at 28%. The result is a minted herbal liqueur with the structure of its better known sibling beneath the cooling top note.

The nose is fresh and minty with a subtle herbal spiciness and a hint of citrus, the palate refreshing with clear menthol over a light herbal bitterness and a pleasant sweetness, the finish long and cooling with mild bitterness. Behind the bar it brings cooling mint and a gentle herbal backbone to a glass, useful where a drink needs lift without heavy sugar. Serve it as a digestif, well chilled or with a fruit salad, or build it long as a Branca Menta Tonic or into a Mint Julep riff.