Are you a fan of vermouth, amaro and other old familiars in the bitter back catalog of the spirits world? Then you should definitely also get to know Barolo Chinato. It is an aromatized wine made from – yes, you guessed it: Barolo. It is a superb pre- or after-dinner drink: deep, complex and with a satisfying bittersweetness. Cocchi’s version is made with, among other things, gentian, cardamom and rhubarb.
Colour: Brick red.
Scent: Very intense scent where you sense the old Barolo, but spiced up with licorice, cocoa, marjoram, rhubarb and a number of other exciting aromas.
Tasting notes: The taste is soft, slightly sweet and incredibly long. Here, among other things, are orange peel, mint, coriander, cloves and licorice again.
Serving suggestion: Enjoy it slightly chilled, possibly over ice cream with a slice of orange, and preferably on a sunny terrace. It’s also a fun ingredient to play with in cocktails – in particular, it brings to mind a myriad of Negroni variants!
Cocchi was founded by the young confectioner, Giulio Cocchi, in 1891. Ever since, the company has been making sparkling wine, vermouth and other flavored wines in Piedmont, always with quality at the forefront. The good track record, with 121 years of uninterrupted operation, got Cocchi entered in Italy’s National Register of Historic Companies in 2012. Among other things, the company has helped lift Barolo Chinato out of the mists of oblivion and was one of the driving forces behind vermouth’s renaissance. The current head of Cocchi, Roberto Bava, has also been elected president of the Vermouth di Torino Institute, which brings together a number of producers with the common goal of ensuring the identity and continued survival of Torino vermouth.
