Italy Brings Olives to the Drinker's Glass
Olive oil cocktail photo credit Johann Trasch
In addition to the iconic garnish of the Martini, olives and olive oil have been making their way into drinks. It is no longer uncommon to see drops of olive oil floating in cocktail glasses in the world’s best bars. However, there are also spirits, bitters and liqueurs, where the base or one of the main elements are olives, olive oil, olive blossoms, or olive leaves. Olives were used in spirits in ancient times and are slowly but surely making a comeback. In Italy and other Mediterranean countries such as Greece, more and more distillers are choosing olives (or other parts of the olive tree) to give character to their products.
Olives: a drinking history
In Italian aperitivo and digestivo culture, liqueurs and bitters can be made from practically anything, from herbs to flowers, through fruit and roots. Born as medicinal remedies, initially produced by monks and friars and then passed through the skillful hands of grandmothers who make them using kitchen scraps such as lemon or tangerine peel. Today amari, aperitivi and digestivi represent an important industry segment not only in Italy, but especially abroad and in the United States, where they have been increasingly popular.
Still, it is unusual to find aperitivi and digestivi made from olives or other parts of the olive tree. This is because the production of oil and olives is a much more important market and because the flavor of the olive tree – from the branches to the leaves, to the olives themselves is not easy to control. It requires expert knowledge to prevent maceration or distillation from releasing tannic and very bitter flavors.
Yet we know that the ancient Romans were making olive tree infusions to mitigate fever and that, over a thousand years ago, the monks of the Gargano promontory in Apulia were producing an olive tree liqueur for medicinal purposes. The olive tree, in fact, contains a polyphenol, oleuropein, known for its antiviral, antiseptic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Olive liqueur is also a traditional product from the region of Lake Garda, and is made by macerating local olives in grappa.
Today’s Olive Spirits and Liqueurs
Of course, nowadays bitters and liqueurs are no longer used for medicinal purposes, and the bitter, not too strong but deep taste of the olive tree and its fruits can be pleasing to those unaccustomed to Italian amari. If leaves are harvested in autumn, their color tends towards green and the strength of a bitter or liqueur has a rather wide range: it can go from 30 to 50%.
To better understand the versatility of this very Mediterranean ingredient, it’s worth considering two types of products, an olive distillate and an amaro, one made from olives and the other from the olive tree. Both are crafted to reflect a sense of place.
Distillato Rurale 50/60
A distillate with olives and extra virgin olive oil
50/60 is a small distillery in Apulia, southern Italy, run by two women, Angela Aliani and Fabia De Ecclesiis, opened in 2020. Throughout their portfolio, their idea is always to show the Apulian territory, its nuances and variety. Their Distillato Rurale, starring olives, is composed of six main elements: Apulian olive oil from a specific variety of olive, the coratina, fresh olives, slow-dried Femminello lemon peels, Toritto almonds, glasswort, and Apulian carob. Distilled in a copper pot still by the steam current method, its bottled at 42% abv. It has a round, captivating taste, the saltiness of the glasswort and the intense aroma of olive oil stand out, along with the freshness of lemon. “We wanted to show our territory and Puglia is its olive trees,” share the distillers, adding “We macerate olive oil and some fresh olives with citrus fruits in alcohol and water and then we distill. It took us many months and many trials, because the flavor of olive oil has to be a hint or it is too overpowering and we have to be careful with the doses so as not to incur the bad smell it can give off. The balance with the citrus makes it perfect, full of character but very pleasant.”
Amaro Olivea Secolo 21
The flavor of Sicily’s olive trees from olive leaves
Amaro Olivea Secolo 21
Sicily is famous for its olive trees too. The Noto Valley, in the southeast of the island, grows olive trees but also citrus fruits, almonds, ginger and much more. Secolo 21 is a new organic farm that, among other things, also produces rosoli and amari, including one, Olivea, made from olive leaves. At 30% ABV, the result is an amaro that is excellent as a digestive but also suitable for use in mixology: its taste is full, with a distinct herbaceous flavor from the olive and a spiciness from the ginger. The distillery shares that all ingredients are organic and from their farm. The olive leaves, strictly unprocessed, natural, are not the main ingredient or the flavor would be too dominant. They are combined with a mix of mint, ginger, artichoke leaves, citrus and other Sicilian herbs. Maceration takes place separately for each ingredient (three to four days for the olive leaf essence) and then assembled, as it used to be done in the past.